


Two Misfits Fit Together

by FancyMancy



Series: Two Misfits [1]
Category: South Park
Genre: Abuse, Angst, Canon Compliant, Child Abuse, F/M, Falling In Love, Friends to Lovers, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Self-Reflection, Sibling Bonding, Slow Burn, Underage Smoking, Violence, at least for a while
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-30
Updated: 2020-11-23
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:13:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 25,956
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27281752
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FancyMancy/pseuds/FancyMancy
Summary: Shelly Marsh, tired of being feared and feeling unloved, had turned to vices that no one could've envisioned. It seemed as if this was going to be the path she will spiral downwards into, but a few chance encounters with a dirty blond boy in the school's backrooms and in the middle of a cold South Park evening might just give her all that she needs to slowly but surely turn her life around once more for the better.Inspired by Pepsicola's 'Wherever She Goes, Destruction Follows'. Go check it out as well as the rest of their work!
Relationships: Shelly Marsh/Kevin McCormick
Series: Two Misfits [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1991941
Comments: 8
Kudos: 25





	1. Prologue - Shelly's Perspective

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Wherever She Goes, Destruction Follows](https://archiveofourown.org/works/17805005) by [pepsicola](https://archiveofourown.org/users/pepsicola/pseuds/pepsicola). 

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter entails Shelly's first formal meeting with Kevin on one cold South Park night.

Shelly Marsh was a troubled child.

She. . . wasn’t exactly the best person she could be, what with all the bullying of the fourties that she’s done. Her own brother, Stan Marsh, had even started to fear her. Every time she converses with him, she could obviously see that he was treating it like he was toeing around a minefield. 

“Shit.” She muttered as she coughed out the smoke she’d inhaled from her cigarette. “. . . I hate this.” Shelly continued as she brought the cigarette back to her lips to take another drag. Now, she wasn’t a chain smoker—not yet, at least –and nor was she a vagrant, or at least she thought so. 

. . .That would be true if she wasn’t cutting classes right now, smoking her second cigarette of the day in one of the school’s unused rooms. 

Shelly had been doing this for a month now, though she at least has some semblance of self-control, taking breaks from this self-destructive habit once a while. She wasn’t exactly sure what exactly broke her to do this vagrancy, but she did know that this was a long time coming. She had a stressful family life, a dreadful social life, and a completely fucked romantic life. All of these three together were a recipe for something much like what she was doing now. 

“Fuckin’ people fear me. They get scared when I approach them! I can’t even make friends without somebody tellin’ them that I’m the beast.” She said under her breath with much disdain, though most of it was directed towards herself. She thought to herself that they were right to fear her, and that she was a terrible person. “Why am I like this?” She added with the same tone as before. 

Somebody suddenly squeaked out in surprise, causing Shelly to immediately act upon her reflexes. She tore the cigarette from her mouth, though its butt abruptly got stuck in her teeth. Once she succeeded on ripping it off, the cigarette tore itself apart completely, scattering tobacco ash and dried tobacco leaves where she stood. She frowned and stomped on the leaves on the ground in her annoyance.

Whoever squeaked was definitely freaked out now. Shelly heard their hurried footsteps as they scurried out of the room. She turned around at breakneck speed, hoping to catch whoever saw her, though the only feature of them she saw were their short and quite literally dirty golden brown hair. Shelly immediately tried to follow them, though when she exited the room, whoever they were had already lost her. 

Frustrated at the interruption of her own brooding, Shelly walked back to the room to clean her tracks. She bent down and grabbed the leaves and dust with her hands and throwing them away on the window. Once that was done, she fanned the air with her hands, hoping to disperse some of the fumes. She failed, however, and she decided to give up when her arms began to ache.

"I'll be caught anyway now. No use cleaning shit up after all." She grumbled to herself as she stormed out of the room and begrudgingly walked towards her next class.

====

Shelly laid awake that night, thinking of what ramifications may come because of whoever saw her. She’d been doing a great job of hiding what she was doing to anyone, and for what happened to happen would’ve been a fluke. A very unfortunate fluke. What if her parents knew what she was doing? What would her classmates think of her? What would Stan and the turds think? That she was a lowlife bitch that’s pissy because she’s not a damn princess? That she was a failure in the making?

Frustrated at herself once more, Shelly decided to try and distract herself by using her phone to browse the internet. She took it from the nightstand and pressed the power button once. To her annoyance, the phone had apparently been shut down for some inane reason. She pressed the power button again, holding it in place this time, and waited as the phone booted up. As the logo of the phone’s brand came into view, her face became illuminated on the phone’s still predominantly black screen. Shelly saw her reflection within the phone’s glass, causing her temper to flare up once more at the sight of her own imperfections.

“I look like a damn bulldog.” She spat to herself. “My fucking hair looks like a rat’s nest! How could anyone think of me of anything else but a bully at this point?!” Shelly continued, whispering to herself angrily. Her grip on the phone tightened to the point where she was actually worried that she’d crack it. Instead of accidentally destroying her phone, Shelly decided to calm herself down. She took some deep breaths and set the phone back down on the nightstand.

She stared at the ceiling for quite a while as she tried to think of happy thoughts. However, what came out was a mix of neutral and annoyed ones. Her already annoyed expression worsened to the point where she was actively scowling. Her plan to calm herself down had not-so-spectacularly backfired, and now, Shelly found herself raising her hand and curling it into a fist, ready to start striking herself in pure self-hatred. 

Fortunately enough, Shelly came back to her senses before her own wallowing became even more violent. She shook her head, a little surprised at what she was about to do. She lowered her hand and relaxed it as she sat up on her bed. 

“. . . M-Maybe a walk will clear my mind up.” Shelly said to herself in a somber tone. She walked up to her bedroom window and parted the curtains, peeking at her surroundings. There weren’t many people around, much to her surprise. 

Well. . . except for one dirty blond-haired boy.

Shelly frowned, remembering her encounter with someone with a similar hair color back at the backrooms of the school. She closed the blinds, turned around and leaned back on the wall, debating if she was still to go outside. 

The debate didn’t last long in Shelly’s mind. It was better to try and clear shit up now instead of wallowing in it until she could no longer stand the metaphorical stench, she reasoned. With her mind made up, she walked over to her closet and grabbed a purple button-up shirt and a pair of brown shorts. Shelly put both of these garments over her sleeping attire, realizing that it was going to be cold as fuck outside on the streets at this time of night. 

Shelly slowly opened her bedroom door, making sure not to make any creaks that could wake her family up. She looked down at the stairs, straining her eyes to see if her father was still down there. The T.V was closed, so she supposed that he wasn’t, or that he was at least asleep. She closed her bedroom door with similar caution and, with careful steps, Shelly started walking across the hallway and into the stairwell, trying her best not to put her feet down too heavily on the floor. Once she was at the stairs, she walked down to the first floor as silently yet also as fast as she could. 

Randy Marsh slept on the couch, half-naked and wasted on red wine. Shelly was hesitant to continue at first, but decided to press on anyway. As she passed by the couch, she saw that her father was in a deep within drunk dreamland, his eyes closed and his tongue sticking out as saliva disgustingly flowed down from the edges of his lips. Shelly wanted to throw up at the sight but decided against it as she did have some integrity left within her. Once she reached the door, she was unsurprised to see that it was unlocked, taking into account Randy's neglectful behavior when drunk. Shelly rolled her eyes and reached for the knob, twisting it and opening the door widely. 

Immediately, the cool night air invaded the house. Shelly hugged herself and shook at the sudden cold. She felt herself hesitating one more, but she managed to shake off her cold feet. Shelly grabbed a pair of flip-flops from the room and put them on after all that was finally in order, Shelly went outside and closed the door behind her. 

====

The streets of south park were quite peaceful tonight. Maybe it was just the time of the night—after all, every drunkard out there must already be shitfaced to a self-induced coma –or the cold weather itself. Either way, the only people outside right now were just Shelly and the boy, who had not moved from his spot at all during all this time. She inspected him and noted that he was ill-equipped for the cold and that he was very, very dirty. Her eyes moved towards his left which is where the McCormick residence is.

“Oh. . . He’s the turd’s brother. Right.” She realized, referring to Kenny. ”What was his name again? Ah, right. Kevin.” She thought to herself as she thought about what to do next. A part of her wanted to head the other way, but another wanted her to walk towards the elder McCormick boy. Eventually, the latter won out, and Shelly found herself walking towards Kevin McCormick despite the protests of her former half. 

As she approached him, she noticed that he was shivering, just like what she expected from his attire. Faint traces of untreated bruises were also partially hidden beneath his worn shirt, along with some fresh ones on his bare arms and knees. Curiously enough, Kevin does not seem fazed by any of the latter. 

It was as if he's familiar to his bruises already. 

Shelly bit her lip as she got closer to him, a few thoughts running through her mind, though musings of what he could've done with the discovery of her little excursions surprisingly enough took the backseat. She was intrigued by him, and for once, based on what she'd seen (though she does not necessarily hope that what was implied is true), Shelly thought that there was finally someone she could at least, in some sense, relate to. Once she was behind him, Shelly stood in place and cleared her throat to get Kevin's attention. . .


	2. Prologue - Kevin's Perspective

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kevin McCormick, the eldest of the McCormick siblings has some problems just like Shelly did, though it was arguably worse than what she was going through. It was hardly a surprise, really; being a McCormick entailed such shit conditions.
> 
> This chapter entails the first formal meeting of Shelly and Kevin in one cold South Park night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's a bit of familial abuse scattered around this chapter, so I'm giving a little warning for people who are sensitive to these topics.

Kevin McCormick was a troubled child.

His family life was a mess. His mother and father were druggies that couldn’t even care for their own sons and daughter. The only times that the McCormick children even felt their parents love were the times where Carol and Stuart were sober, and of course, that meant that it was seldom. The lack of love from his father and mother as well as his status as an outcast in the school drove him to fill in the hole with vices and rebellion. 

Here he was now, skipping yet another class to sulk alone in one of the unused rooms of the school for a smoke or two. Nobody disturbed him in these places, though the reason for that might be the sad fact that no one even bothered to notice his existence. The only times that they’ve spoken of Kevin were the times that they gossiped about him and his parents, and Kevin resented that.

As he silently walked through the school halls, thoughts of what happened earlier today at home invaded his mind. He closed his eyes and gritted his teeth, but the thoughts intruded his psyche nonetheless. 

====

_Kevin walked down the stairs and entered the living room, hoping to eat a frozen waffle before going off to school. The only thing he happened upon, however, were Carol and Stuart. They were rendered useless on the couch, their half-asleep minds clouded in their own highs. Kevin frowned, knowing that they wouldn’t snap out of it for quite a while._

_“Kenny! Karen! Get yer’ bottoms ready!” He yelled out to the second floor. The sudden shuffling of feet signaled that his siblings have gotten the message. Satisfied with this, Kevin turned around and faced the kitchen. Their 2-slot toaster stood in the middle of their rickety table in all of its glory, surrounded by the dirty and crust-covered plates from last night’s dinner._

_“. . . Fuckin’ ‘ell.” He whispered to himself as he walked over to their fridge. He opened the main compartment, and upon finding nothing but packs of canned bear and spoiled leftovers, closed it immediately._

_“Christ.”_

_Kevin went ahead and grabbed one of the chairs tucked beneath the table. He placed it down in front of the fridge and climbed up on it, allowing him to reach the upper compartment of the fridge. He took hold of the handle and opened the door, revealing the frozen waffles inside. Kevin counted how many of the waffles were still left, and to his surprise and disappointment, there were only two. He bit his lip, thinking of how to make this work._

_Kevin thought back to when he was a single child. Carol and Stuart wasn't really flush with cash even back then, and so, they never really had a time where they were able to eat anything more than basic and cheap food. He stared at his hands, feeling the weak whiff of cold air that the freezer gave off. He studied the lines that ran around the base of his palm as well as the numerous callouses present within it._

_He then thought back to one of the rare times that he’d gone to class. It was his science period and their lesson on that date was about the growth of a human person. One of the few things he remembered about that lecture was the importance of food on growth. He learned that malnutrition often resulted to a ‘stunted’ child, with long lasting effects that are presents even in adulthood._

_He. . . wasn’t deaf to the rumors that often circulated about him, especially back then. People around him as well as his classmates often claimed that he was ‘retarded’, and more polite teachers referred to him as. . . well. . . ‘stunted’._

_Same difference, Kevin thought._

_He supposed that he truly was one of those. He wasn’t really happy with the fact that others consider him to be that, but Kevin had accepted it at this point. What he couldn’t accept, however, was for his siblings to turn out like him, and so, he decided to give the last breakfast waffles to his siblings instead. To him, they had a future unlike the one he and his parents have squandered together._

_Kevin sighed deeply as he reached for the waffles with his left hand while closing the freezer with the other. He hopped down the chair and dragged it back under the table._

_“Hey Kevin!” Kenny called out to him, causing him to look up. Kenny was standing in the doorway between the kitchen and the living room. He was already wearing his orange parka. Kevin waved at Kenny._

_“’Ey bro. Where’s Karen?” Kevin asked Kenny. Kenny stepped out of the doorway, revealing the living room. Karen was in front of their high parents, poking them on their bodies in hopes of getting them to snap out of it._

_“. . . Hah. . . hum. . . hmm. . .” Carol muttered in a slurred voice. Karen kept poking her everywhere with a worried face, oblivious to their state of stupor._

_“Mommy. Daddy. Please wake up!” She pleaded in a tone that hinted that she was about to cry. Kevin frowned and set down the frozen waffles on the table. He walked towards Karen and placed a hand on her shoulder._

_“You should get up and prepare for school, Karen.” He whispered to her sister. Karen went silent and looked down, clearly conflicted._

_“But. . . what about them?” She asked._

_“They’re. . . gonna be fine.” Kevin replied, giving Karen a small smile. “Come on to the table. I’ve got somethin’ for ya’ to eat, ya’ little bean.”_

_Karen looked up at Kevin and smiled back, though her eyes betrayed her and showed her true emotions. . ._

====

Kevin slapped himself to his senses, the sound of the impact between his hands and his cheeks still lingering on his mind. He looked down at the hand he’d just slapped himself with and curled it into a fist. He didn’t really mind that both his cheek and his hand really hurt. After all, he’d already done this before.

Finally, after quite a while of walking, Kevin happened upon the room he had planned to waste his time in. With an internal sigh, Kevin walked inside.

“Wh—“ Kevin squeaked upon seeing that somebody already there. 

In the room was Shelly Marsh, smoking a cigarette. 

Kevin immediately thought about the rumors revolving her. They painted a picture of a relentless bully and a ruthless Amazonian. He immediately thought of the consequences that may come with crossing her, too. 

”Ow man. I can’t be caught. . . I dun’ want’a face her!” Kevin thought to himself in a panic which went into overdrive when Shelly, surprised by the squeak that he had given off earlier, suddenly ripped her cigarette from her. The butt got stuck on her headgear on the process, however, and the tobacco within it exploded all over the place. Angered by this misfortune, Shelly stomped on the ground, sending Kevin’s already extremely panicked mind into an absolute state of fear. His thoughts were immediately filled with notions of escape at that moment, sure to himself that Shelly was going to take her anger out at him next.

Unwilling to become a punching bag for Shelly Marsh, Kevin high tailed it out of there immediately. He’d rather, at this moment, be berated for being late to class once again by their teacher than to potentially become her enemy or target.

====

“Why the fuck are there no waffles left?!” Stuart McCormick yelled out as he pointed angrily at the empty freezer. Carol McCormick, who was at the couch, stood up and walked over to the kitchen with a scowl in her face.

“Maybe because somebody’s bein’ a fuckin’ slacker and refusin’ to get actual WORK TO BUY THEM!” She yelled back as she leaned on the doorframe. 

“That is not the point, Carol! In fact, I remember GIVING YOU MONEY THIS WEEK! Maybe you’re being the fucking bum who won’t do anything as simple as getting GROCERIES!” Stuart fired back, kickstarting another screaming match. 

Kevin, Kenny and Karen were at the stairs, peeking at the kitchen through the railing as they watched their parents argument unfold. Kevin wore a poker face, clearly used to their arguments at this point. Kenny’s face was undecipherable, his face hidden beneath his parka. Karen, however, being the most sensitive and emotional of the McCormick siblings was greatly affected. She sobbed as she wrapped her knees with her arms, overwhelmed by Carol and Stuart’s yelling. Kenny patted her on the back and on the head to comfort her, though it did little to relax to youngest McCormick. 

“Karen, lighten up. At least they’re responsive this time, right?” Kenny joked, though it fell on deaf ears. 

“I. Am. Curious. ON HOW WE RAN OUT IN THE FIRST PLACE!” Stuart yelled out.

“We eat a LOT OF WAFFLES DAILY, STUA—“ Carol replied.

“I KNOW THAT, CAROL! BUT THIS IS THE FIRST TIME IN A WHILE THAT WE’VE FUCKING RUN OUT!” Stuart shook his arms to emphasize his point.

“You’re fuckin’ stupid! Didn’t you hear earlier ya’ retard?! WE. DON’T. HAVE. ANY. MONEY! I wonder who blew it on more FUCKIN’. . . SHIT!” She shouted back, though she was careful around the word ‘drugs’.

“Well maybe you’ve been coddling the children too much! Have you looked at Kevin? He’s being a fucking slouch that does NOTHING ALL DAY EXCEPT FAIL SCH—“

Kevin could not take any more of this shit. He ran down the stairs, much to the surprise of his siblings. 

“STOP PUTTIN’ YA’ OWN FAILURES ON ME, PAP!” He yelled down as he went, pointing a finger at Stuart. “YA’ NEVER JUS’ ADMIT THAT MAYBE YER’ A BAD DAD OR PERSON!” He accused him.

Carol and Stuart stood there for a second, stunned. This second of silence, however, was quickly ended when Stuart walked up to Kevin, his anger shifting from his wife to his eldest son.

“Did you just yell at me? Do you think that you’re a man now, huh?” Stuart bent down to Kevin’s level, his voice and tone full of venom. “Do you think that you can stand up to me now, you little shit?” He continued as he grabbed Kevin’s right arm, squeezing it tightly.

“Y-Yes.” Kevin replied. He felt a pang of pain as Stuart’s grip continued to tighten at his arm, though he stood his ground. He had to. “I have the damn right to tell ya’ that yer’ a t-terrible father.”

Stuart’s face contorted with anger and disdain. “I’ll show you how much of a man you are.” He whispered with pure hatred.

Kenny grabbed Karen by the shoulders and hauled her back to her room as Stuart began to punish Kevin in earnest. His pained screams as well as Carol’s futile attempts at restraining and calming Stuart down were heard throughout the house. He went into Kevin and Karen’s room and locked it.

Karen released herself from Kenny’s grip, landing on the floor with a small thud. She ran to her bed face-first and buried her face on her pillow. Kenny couldn’t do anything but stare at the floor as he attempted to tune everything that’s happening downstairs out.

====

Kevin McCormick sat on a street bench outside in silence after his fight with his father. He had bruises on both of his arms from the beating he took from him, though Kevin hardly paid it any mind. What he minded were the words of his father. They were belittling, finely crafted by Stuart on an attempt to destroy Kevin’s already sparse and frail aspirations. Those were the things that hurt him on a deeper level and Kevin hated it. 

"I need a smoke." Kevin said to himself as he search his pockets for any spare cigarettes. To his misfortune, he had found none. "Or not. . ." He added in dismay.

Somebody suddenly cleared their throat behind Kevin, causing him to snap out of his reverie. He turned around, confused, though it immediately changed to an expression of pure fear when he saw that it was Shelly Marsh. He thought about their encounter earlier today at the unused room at the South Park Elementary School, and his blood ran cold when his mind wandered to the possibility of Shelly being here to exact divine retribution on him.

"Uh, Hello--" Shelly tried to speak, but was immediately cut off by Kevin's frantic apologies and excuses.

“Oi! I. . . I didn’ speak my tongue to no one! No, no! I promise, Shell', my lips ar' sealed! ‘Am already gotten me fair share o’ violence, thank you! ” He spoke rapidly with a scared tone. He almost fell over at the bench he was sitting on as he attempted to make enough distance between him and Shelly, his hands raised up to make a pathetic barrier between him and her fists.

However, nothing happened.

Kevin, surprised that he was still unhurt (by Shelly, anyway), lowered his hands. He saw that Shelly was still there, though this time, she was _fuming_. Her glare pierced through him like a superfine laser, causing him to raise up his hands once again in self defense.  


Once again, nothing came. . . except for the whimpers of the now crying Shelly. 

Kevin lowered his hands once again, staring at Shelly in disbelief. He. . . is thoroughly confused this time, not knowing what to do. Shelly Marsh, the big bad bully as he’d heard, was crying in front of him for no discernable reason. What was he to do when he doesn’t really know how to talk to girls, let alone a crying one?

Kevin stood up from the bench and slowly approached Shelly. She had her right arm over her eyes as she cried, so she didn’t notice Kevin do so. He wasn’t sure what he was going to do, but he supposed that he could try calming her down the way he calms down Karen. Kevin took a deep breath and uttered a quick and silent prayer as he reached for Shelly’s arm. 

Shelly perked up at the sudden contact. She lowered her arm, showing her moist blue eyes. Her mouth was agape, as if she was equally confused as he was. Shelly looked down as her cheeks began to redden from her embarrassment, though there was the hint of a frown on her face. 

Kevin opened his mouth to speak in hopes of apologizing for something to help Shelly calm down. However, Shelly suddenly jerked her arm away from his hand and looked away. 

“S-Shelly, I didn’ mean nothin’! Can ye’ tell me why ya’ bawlin’ your eyes out?” Kevin said to Shelly. She refused to respond, still looking at the ground. Kevin reached for her arm once again, but she jerked it away too all the same.

“. . . Forget that you ever s-saw me, turd.” She muttered in a low tone, a faint hiccup in her voice. She then turned around and started walking back to the direction of her house. Kevin wanted to run after her to find out what he did, but decided against it.

He stared at the direction of the Marsh residence, focusing at the pink figure of Shelly as she headed back home. He was still unsure on what caused Shelly to cry spontaneously like that, and truth be told, he really wanted to find out. 

“Guess I’ll try an’ find her at school tom’row.” Kevin whispered to himself as he turned around and walked back to the bench. . .


	3. (Mis)understanding

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kevin McCormick learns that he had seen Shelly's vulnerable side yesterday when he tries to apologize at school. Now it's Shelly's turn to see his.

It’s now the morning after Shelly’s evening walk, and she was already pissed. Not only did she lack sleep as evidenced by the tell-tale signs of eye-bags under each of her eyes, she was also quite angry at herself from what she said and did yesterday night. 

“Ugh. Stupid. Stupid!” She mumbled at herself angrily as she got off her bed. “Why did I fucking cry?! Why did I even approach that turd in the first place?!” She continued ranting as she slipped off her pyjamas. She then walked to her closet and opened it, searching for something to wear for today. 

Her search was abruptly interrupted when somebody knocked on her door.

“Shelly? It’s me, Stan!” Stan yelled from the other side of the door. “Mom’s telling you to go down for breakfast!” 

Shelly rolled her eyes intensely as she grabbed yet another purple button-up shirt. “Shut it, turd! You know that I’m coming when I want to!” She replied.

“Mom told you, not me!” Stan yelled back. _”Jesus Christ.”_

“What was that, Stan?!” Shelly replied once more with an angrier tone. 

“I-I said nothing! Just. . . just come downstairs, okay?” Stan hurriedly said as he started running downstairs, afraid that he’d just pissed Shelly off.

“. . . Fucking turd.” Shelly murmured to herself as she continued preparing herself for the day. 

====

Shelly walked into school alone, her bag hanging limply on her right shoulder. She looked down as she went, though she still wore her signature scowl. People subtly tried to avoid her while she walked, but nothing got past Shelly. She knew how they felt about her. They knew what she felt about them. 

It was a mutual understanding, really.

She approached her locker and unlocked it. She then reached inside and grabbed the books she needed for the day while putting back the items that weren’t important. Once she had finished managing her things, Shelly grabbed the door of her locker and slammed it shut. She turned around to the direction of her next class, only to be surprised with the sight of Kevin McCormick. He was wearing clothes that were longer than Shelly had seen him wear. She brushed it off, though. What she’s interested at is the fact that he was waiting for her in her locker.

“W-What do you think you’re doing, turd?” Shelly stammered greatly, adding even more incomprehensibility on her words.

Kevin McCormick blinked and opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out as he hesitated greatly.

“Speak up!” Shelly shouted at him, eliciting looks from the others. Whispers started to fly around as the others around them converse about the two. Of course they would, why wouldn’t they? Both of them were unpopular, even if their unpopularity were fundamentally different. Shelly was feared and hated. Kevin disgusted people.

“I. . . I. . .” He began. “I. . . just wan’ to apol’gize for yesterday night.” Kevin raised his hand and started scratching the back of his neck. His sleeves receded at this, revealing the bruises that he had gained last night. The very ones that Shelly saw some of. 

If looks could kill, Kevin would’ve been murdered thrice over by now. Shelly gritted her teeth and jagged a finger at Kevin’s chest. He staggered back at her touch, overpowered by the force she had just exerted. 

“I told you to forget about that you little shit!” Shelly said to Kevin in an angry tone, though she was whispering now as to not let people overhear. “What part of that did you not get through your thick McCormick head?!” 

Kevin bit his lip. He wasn’t expecting a different reaction from Shelly Marsh, but he was still surprised at how stubborn she was. 

“. . . Shelly, I just. . . didn’ expect you to react that way. A-An’. . . I wasn’ thinkin’, a’ight? Something happened that n-night an’. . .”

“No excuses. You know why? Because it never. Even. Happened.” Shelly interrupted Kevin, jabbing at his chest with every word to emphasize her point. “You can go take whatever memory you have of that encounter and stick it up your ass!” 

Kevin raised both of his arms to signify his surrender, causing his sleeves to slide down even further and show even more of his bruises. “A’ight, Shelly. I’ll forget that it even happened. I didn’ saw ya’ go out ta’ house last night, ‘kay?.” He replied sincerely.

“That’s great.” She replied in a snappy tone. “And one more thing—forget about the fact that you saw me smoke, too. I have been trying to hide it for so long and if somebody finds out, I’ll know it’s you just like I know that you’re the one that walked in on me. You already know what will happen if you cross me.” She continued in an angry whisper. Kevin tried his hardest not to laugh, what with the mispronunciations she made due to her headgear. 

“Look, why are you try’na hide it from others? I. . . don’ think that it wasn’ anythin’ bad, Shelly. And it’s not like I’m gonna spread the word ‘bout it anywho.” 

“The reason that I’m warning you about this is that you saw me in a vulnerable moment and I. . . don’t want that getting out. My image was the only thing giving me a sense of identity and the sole indicator of my niche in this school, Kevin.” Shelly answered. Her voice got less angry with every word, and somehow, it became more. . . sad? She averted her gaze from him for a second as if she has having difficulty speaking. “It. . . It’s not really the best image there is, but. . .”

Shelly closed her eyes for a few moments. Kevin swore that he saw a tear run down from one of her eyes.

“G-God. . . Just. . . don’t sp—“

“-- Don’ speak ‘bout it.” Kevin finished her sentence for her. “Shelly. I get what you said already. You don’ wan’ it gettin’ out ‘cause you don’ want to lose your image. I understand.” He continued with a tone of finality. 

Shelly put her hands in her pockets and bit her lip, the tension in her shoulders relaxing. Kevin, no longer under duress, found himself relaxing too. They stood there in silence for a while, with Kevin staring straight at Shelly’s forehead while the latter stared at his feet.

After a few moments, Shelly wordlessly walked past Kevin. He turned around to watch her as she went, only looking away once she had turned a corner and walked out of his sight. As if on cue, the whispers and murmurs of the people around them stopped. 

====

At lunch, instead of eating on the cafeteria, Shelly had decided to take yet another smoke.

She carefully walked into her usual spot, making sure to not leave any trace. She’s actually quite good at that now if you consider the fact that she’s been doing it for a month. Once she decided that she was in the clear, Shelly slipped into the room and took the pack she’d stolen from Randy out.

She lit a stick and started smoking. The pent up stress she’d gathered from the start of the day—From that turd Stan’s intrusion and her morning classes –slowly dissipated as she took a hit. It didn’t alleviate all of them of course, but it was just enough to stop herself from breaking down and throwing a shit fit.

Her little moment of peace got interrupted when she heard footsteps down the hall. Shelly’s smoking reflex kicked in and she quickly took the cigarette off her mouth, cheering herself mentally as she successfully avoided repeating what happened the last time she did it. Once she had carefully discarded the stick, Shelly leaned on the wall and started trying to act like she was _only_ cutting classes.

The intruder entered the room slowly. Shelly leaned forward to get a close look at them. 

She furrowed her brows when she realized that the intruder was Kevin McCormick. He was slouched over, his eyes facing the floor. 

_”This turd is really persistent, huh?!”_ She thought to herself angrily. Kevin hadn’t exactly noticed her yet as he was looking down, so Shelly simply stuck her foot out in his path and tripped him.

Kevin yelped as somebody stuck their foot out in front of him. He couldn’t react on time, so it resulted on him falling down face-first. He put his hands forward in order to prevent his nose from kissing the ground. However, unfortunately for Kevin, his fall was great enough for the sudden stop to hurt, especially with his bruises. He yelped once more as pain shot up through both of his arms, causing him to quickly roll over on his back on an effort to relieve his hands and arms of pressure. Kevin looked around with half-closed eyes to see who had just tripped him.

“Oh.” He muttered when he saw Shelly Marsh once again. 

“Are. You. Stalking. Me?! First, you wait by me on my own locker and then you walk in on me for. The. Second. Time!” Shelly said at him with added emphasis on every word as she walked over to where he was. 

“No! I wasn’ doin’ any of that! S’all just a coincidence, I swear!” Kevin quickly denied as he waved his aching arms and shook his head. Shelly, however, still seemed unconvinced. She put a foot on his chest and leaned on her knee.

“Yeah, right. What were you going to do in here, _Kevin _?” She said angrily.__

__“Don’ believe me? I’m. . . just comin’ by fer’ a smoke just like ya’, Shelly.” Kevin explained. He dug into his pockets and pulled out a cigarette. “See? I. . . didn’ expect ya’ to be here, I promise. Y-You want one?”_ _

__She bit her lip and scanned Kevin, thinking of what to say or do next. On one hand, she was still unsure what to think of her frequent run-ins with Kevin. On the other, that smoke he was offering seemed really fucking enticing right now, especially since he just made her ruin the one she was smoking with his stupid intrusion._ _

__Shelly huffed. “Fine. I believe you.” She said as she snatched the cigarette from his hand and let him go. She then offered him her other hand, much to Kevin’s surprise. “Get up from the floor, McCormick.” Shelly commanded.  
__

__Kevin smiled and grabbed her hand. At first, he just stood up slowly with Shelly's help, but the girl had other plans. She suddenly jerked her hand up, pulling Kevin's bruised and aching arms, causing him to groan in pain._ _

____

____

__“Oh _FUCK!_.” Kevin yelled through his teeth in anguish as he staggered where he stood. He immediately started massaging the arm Shelly pulled, much to her annoyance. She rolled her eyes and put her hands into her hips and began to snark at him._ _

__“Oh, did I _hurt_ your little bruise, McCormi—“ _ _

__Kevin suddenly lifted up one of his sleeves to his shoulder as he continued massaging it. What Shelly saw made her immediately shut herself up. She grimaced as she was involuntarily given a wide view of the black, blue and purple bruises that covered most of his arm, making it look like somebody had just spilled petroleum over Kevin. It was a horrible sight, even to Shelly herself. It was so bad and thorough that even she knew that even she could not give somebody an injury as bad as this. Who even gave him these? When?_ _

__Wait a minute._ _

__Shelly remembered what she saw last night. She’d forgotten one little detail that she noticed when she first approach Kevin. He was bruised as fuck that night, and the reason that he was wearing long articles of clothing today was because he wanted to hide them. She was so bothered with her crying and her self-moping both last night and this morning that she’d forgotten about it._ _

__“K-Kevin?” She asked him worriedly._ _

__Kevin looked up at her. He then blinked, confused at what she called him for, until he noticed that she was staring at his bruises. “I-I-I. . . It’s nothing.” He stammered as he rolled his sleeves back down._ _

__“I'm. . . I'm really sorry. I didn't know! I. . . Who did—“_ _

__“Shelly. Its-It's okay.” Kevin said to her. “A-An' I told ya’ that it’s nothin’. I gave ‘em somethin’ much worse than this. An'. . . I kind of deserved it, a-anyway.”_ _

__"What are you talking about?!" She said with an exasperated tone. "Whoever did this looks like they're ready to ki--"_ _

__". . . I don't like talkin' about this, Shelly." He interrupted her once more in a sad tone. "I-I mean, kick me all ya' want, but. . . I just don' wan' to talk 'bout this right now."_ _

__Shelly couldn’t believe what she was hearing. She was about to speak again when Kevin put a finger in front of his own mouth and shushed her. To her surprise, she found herself finally shutting up in respect of his wishes, though the thought of his bruises still lingered on her mind and probably will for the rest of the day. Kevin looked up and glanced at a still-working clock above the door._ _

__"Lunch time's almost over, huh?" Kevin said as he dug into his pockets and pulled out a lighter and yet another cigarette. "Let's. . . get smokin' before that happens." He added with a smile as lit up his own stick and put it into his mouth. He then took one hit before offering the lighter to Shelly._ _

__Shelly stared at the lighter, unsure of whether to take it or not._ _

__“Well. . .?” He raised a brow as he waited for her to take it._ _

__“A-Alright, Kevin." She muttered. Shelly grabbed the lighter from Kevin's hand and took out the cigarette he gave her. She lit up and returned the lighter at Kevin, who was still smiling at her. As she put the cigarette on her mouth, she couldn't help but smile back._ _

__". . . T-Thanks."_ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you're getting tired of the constant conflict, don't be afraid! The next chapter will finally have some all around happy themes! Hooray!
> 
> We'll also be skipping a lot of time now from now on.


	4. Smokin' Hangout

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shelly and Kevin became fast friends despite their rough initial encounters. They now hang out at the backrooms almost every day. A sudden offer from Shelly on the tail end of one of these hangouts takes off his beat.

The days after that went by like a blur. Shelly and Kevin became fast friends, and they found themselves sharing smokes and stories in the backroom that they met in. At first, Shelly was incredibly inexperienced in how to act as a friend, especially to someone like Kevin. She often acted too sensitive to Kevin as she tried to keep her only friendship as much as she can, though she eased on it once Kevin told her to ‘just be herself’.

. . . And be herself she did.

She still tried to act caring to Kevin despite that, however. Often times, she’d try and goad him into telling her his problems as she often just shared hers as he listened, though he’d always decline with an excuse. For him, whatever he was going through didn’t matter. It was the best state his family could’ve ever been, he decided, as everything that upset the status quo just made things worse. He remembered that one time that they got handed off to CPS—it ended up being a shitshow, with all three siblings facing abuse that was arguably worse than the ones they got at home. 

La di da. 

“—And I was like, ‘what the hell are you doing here, Sta. . .’—Hey, hey Kevin!” Shelly jabbed at his chest with a finger. “Are you even listening?” She added, her brows furrowed together. Kevin blinked and looked around. 

“Huh?” He stupidly replied. 

Shelly rolled her eyes and groaned. “You haven’t been listening at all, have you? I should’ve guessed.” 

“No, no, no. I was jus’. . . Thinkin’ about why you cried that one night, is all.” He lied as he breathed. Kevin had honestly just spaced out, his mind wandering to someplace else. It wasn’t that Shelly was boring, he just tended to do that when relaxed.

“You’re still thinking of that?” Shelly huffed. “I told you to forget it. I’m not going to tell you again.”

“No, really, I. . . We’re friends now, ain’t we?” Kevin gave her a wide smile, showing off his braces.

“I guess we are.” She said coldly, though Kevin knew that she was just jesting. “B-But that’s besides the point! Because I’m not _telling_ you about it like you don’t tell me your own problems.”

He shrugged. “It’s nothin’ important, Shelly. Why don’t you talk to ya’ brother and find out what Kenny told em’ if you’re so curious—OUGh.” He groaned as Shelly kicked him in the foot.

“Smartass.” She muttered, taking another hit of her cigarette. “One of these days, I’m gonna reach out for you, grab your arm and forcibly treat it you turd.”

“Going soft on me, Marsh? It’s just been’a week—AUGH!” He joked, only to be kicked by Shelly again on his other foot.  


“You are getting a little bit too comfortable, McCormick.” She spat, her arms crossed.

“So we’re back at last name basis, eh? Shame.” Kevin replied smugly as he raised a brow comically while alternatively rubbing both of his feet with the other. Shelly couldn’t help but chuckle, unable to resist all of Kevin’s quips.

“Fuck. You. Turd.” Shelly said to him between bouts of laughter. “Fuck _you, you turd!_ ”

Kevin crossed his arms, a shit-eating grin on his face. 

Their little hangout continued like this—empty threats, friendly insults and peals of laughter. It was way different than anything they’ve done before now, and both Shelly and Kevin enjoyed it immensely. It only ended when they heard the shuffling of footsteps beyond the halls, signalling the end of their lunch break.

“Well.” Shelly murmured as she discarded her cigarette into a small plastic bag. “I guess that’s all for today’s lunch.” 

“Yeah.” He agreed as he flicked his own cigarette over to Shelly’s bag. “Same time tomorrow?”

“Sure. This time, we have to go on the cafeteria though. I feel like eating lunch tomorrow instead of skipping it and smoking away my future.” She answered, smiling coyly. 

Kevin suddenly went silent, much to Shelly’s confusion. 

“What is it, Kevin?” She asked. 

“. . . I don’ really do lunches, Shelly.” He put both of his hands in his pockets, a sad smile on his face.

“What do you mean, turd?”

“I don’ have lunch.” 

“What? But your turd of a brother eats lunch every day with my own brother every day. They’re practically inseparable each time I see them.”

“Kenny? Well. . .” Kevin hesitated.

“Are you going to stall every time I talk to you?” She said in an annoyed tone. 

“. . . I’m the eldest one, Shelly. That’s all there is to it. I got my time eatin’ lunches when I t’was young, and now it’s theirs.” He reasoned.

Shelly looked at him as if he’d just insulted everything she loved. He shuffled uncomfortably where he stood, waiting for her reaction.  
“. . . You’re going, whether you like it or not.” She said to him slowly, making sure that he heard each and every word. 

“C-Can ya’ repeat that?” Kevin’s eyes widened.

“You’re going to go to lunch with me tomorrow at the cafeteria, okay? That’s an order.” Shelly repeated. “If I sit there and I go on and eat alone, you’re dead.” She threatened Kevin, jabbing one of her sharp-nailed fingers at his forehead. He flinched and staggered backwards, rubbing the spot Shelly jabbed with the palm of his hand. It was all in good sport, though, as Kevin couldn’t help but blush at her offer. 

“i-I dunno, Shelly. I don’ have any money on me an’. . .” He tried to reason out once more, but Shelly grabbed the collar of his shirt and lifted him up with a single fist. He yelped, surprised at the sudden show of force.

“I won’t take no for answer, Kevin.” She whispered to him through gritted teeth. “Just go and you’ll see, alright?”

Kevin pursed his lips, hesitant to answer. He wasn’t sure why he was hesitating, but the whole thing seemed like a situation he wanted to avoid. It didn’t help how vague Shelly was being on what she was going to do if he goes into the cafeteria.

But then, he thought about the whole situation from a different angle. Refusing now would probably ruin his newfound friendship with her. She was his only friend, and he hers. If he was turn down her offer then. . .

“I. . . guess I’ll go.” He replied with a smile. 

Shelly finally let go of his collar, causing him to mentally cheer when his feet were finally at the safety of the ground once more. 

“Then it’s settled then. I’ll see you around?” She said to him as she adjusted her clothes and her backpack.

Kevin nodded at her. “I’ll see ya’ ‘round, Shelly.”

Satisfied, Shelly walked out of the room, giving Kevin a little smile and wave as she did so. He felt a wave of warmth crash over him at this, though he ignored it as hard as he could. 

Kevin decided to linger for a while after Shelly left. Alone with his thoughts, his mind drifted to thinking of the fact that Shelly was way different than the rumors that he had heard back then. They said that she was a heartless bully with no redeeming qualities, but what Kevin saw so far proved them wrong despite her outer appearance and action. He found the fact that she keeps trying to hide her soft side under a tough persona amusing, though he has a hunch that the reason that she’s like that in the first place are the rumors themselves. 

After five minutes, Kevin himself left the room and headed to class, the thoughts of Shelly and her offer stuck in his head. . .


	5. Lunchtime

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shelly and Kevin have a nice meal at the school cafeteria for once.

It was now the afternoon of the next day. 

Shelly waited anxiously at her lunch table for Kevin. It’s been five minutes since she first sat there, and even though it’s still incredibly early to tell, Shelly felt like she was abandoned. 

_Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap._

She tapped her nails on the table to pass the time, her head leaning on her hand. She usually didn’t come here because she felt so alone. Nobody wanted to sit with her. Nobody. 

She missed the times she had when she was around her brother’s age. She hadn’t forged her reputation back then, and she actually had friends. They still studied at the same school, but ever since the rumors flew, her friends began to abandon her one by one. 

It’s what started her down this downward spiral in the first place. She felt hopeless. She felt ugly. Every relationship that she’s been in so far were complete disasters and, frankly, disgusting. She couldn’t even begin to fathom what would’ve happened if that Skyler freak got any further with her, not that she didn’t want to. 

Shelly sighed into her palm. 

“I wish I just went to get a smoke instead now.” She whispered to herself. “Fucking Kevin.” 

====

Kevin McCormick leaned on his locker, thinking of how to proceed.

While it looked silly that he was hesitating over what was implied to be free lunch, Kevin just felt. . . off. It’s not off in a way that Shelly was gonna poison him. Now that’d be silly. It was just off because, well, he doesn’t feel all that well about it.

Just like the numerous other rumors circulating the school about him, Kevin was no stranger to the whispers of his schoolmates about his family and their poverty. He didn’t really mind them, much like the other rumors, but that was because they were negative. Shelly’s offer was wholly positive—she simply offered him something out of, well, whatever the offer came from—yet Kevin felt like he didn’t want to go. Frustrated at his own indecision and his lack of self-understanding, Kevin felt like yelling.

“The fuck is wrong with me?” Kevin thought out loud, thinking that he was alone. 

“Probably because you’re a fucking freak.” George, a 6th grader, replied. He was the one with messy brown hair and a green shirt with his face imprinted on it. His shirt would’ve been funny to Kevin if George wasn’t such an asshole, just like what he is being right now. 

Kevin kept his mouth shut, knowing that speaking will only get him to even more trouble. He opted to look down at the ground instead, waiting for George to pass him by. However, he seems to have other plans as he stood still in front of Kevin.

“Don’t pretend that we don’t know what you’ve been doing.” George sneered. 

Kevin kept silent, though he was worried about what George has to say now. 

“You’ve been hanging out a lot with that Shelly Marsh, and we know that that’s because you’re scared. You realized that us 6th graders could beat the shit out of someone like you.” He continued, chuckling airily once he finished speaking. 

Kevin couldn’t help but sigh in relief. That was their deal? How childish can they get?

Upon realizing that Kevin was not about to reply any time soon, George turned to leave, but not before dropping one last threat. “She might be strong, but she can’t protect you at all times. Watch your back, McCormick.” After that, George finally left, leaving Kevin alone on the hall once more. 

“. . . People here don’ mature much no more here, don’ they?” He muttered to himself. He glanced around, looking for a clock to see the time with. Unlucky for him, there was nothing around, so he couldn’t really pinpoint how much time had passed by now.

“I’ve probably wasted too much time an’way. I guess I should just go and get this over with.” Kevin murmured as he turned to the direction of the cafeteria. He was still apprehensive at the thought of entering it, but he didn’t want to hurt Shelly’s feelings by outright ghosting her when she was nice enough to make that offer in the first place. 

====

Shelly had almost fallen asleep at her table. 15 minutes had already passed by, and she was now worried that either Kevin had left her in the dust, or that something happened to him. Based on what she’d experienced before, however, it was most likely the latter. 

The whispers have started now. People probably ran out of things to talk about and now, they’re talking about her. That’s why she doesn’t come to the cafeteria much anymore. Either she loses her appetite or the people in there drive her out with all their gossip and their whispering. It was always the same old rumor about her beating up a kid (which wasn’t necessarily false), cussing out a teacher and other inane things that gossipy teenagers could think of. 

_”What is he doing here?”_

“He?” Shelly turned around to the whisperer. To her not-so-surprise, it was her former friend Mayie Palmers. She was a beautiful girl—flowing black hair, earthy brown eyes, and smooth black skin. She was gossiping with two of her new friends, both of which were unremarkable cheerleader-type white girls. 

“God damn, does Colorado not run out of those assholes?” Shelly said to herself incredulously. Her eyes darted around the location of the three girls as she tried to find the guy they were whispering about. 

People of all shapes and sizes darted in, out and between the lunch tables. She squinted, trying to find somebody remotely remarkable or undesirable enough to be gossiped about being here. She was unsuccessful in this department, and in her frustration, Shelly looked back at Mayie and her posse In hopes of eavesdropping once more. 

Shelly’s eyes widened when she realized that they were now looking behind her. She then felt a bag fall down beside her back, causing her to turn her head sharply to that direction. 

“Sorry I took a while, Shelly.” Kevin greeted her in his southern drawl with a smile. 

“You son of a bitch.” She murmured, shaking her head. 

Shelly slid off to the other side of the lunch table to give Kevin some room to sit beside her. People were still whispering around them, maybe even louder than they were seconds ago. That didn’t matter to her now, however. 

“Where have you been?” Shelly asked as she crossed her arms and frowned. Kevin sat on the space she left for him and made himself comfortable.

“Thinkin’ of the different ways you could’a spiked my food with poison.” He replied without skipping a beat. Shelly didn’t need to know about what actually happened anyway.

“Food? Who said anything about food?” She raised a brow. Kevin turned sharply to face her. 

“W-What?” He whispered back at her nervously.

“Did you expect me to give you free lunch?” Shelly pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed.

Kevin bit his lip. Of course. Of course this would happen. He tilted his head to the right a bit and looked past Shelly’s face, trying to blur her out of his vision. 

“Kevin.”

He tried to keep himself composed. 

“Kevin!” 

He closed his eyes, thinking of how to get himself out of this situation--

“KEVIN!” 

Kevin snapped out of it. He turned to Shelly, a forced smile on his face. 

“W-What is it?” He asked her.

“I’m fucking with you.” Shelly smugly answered, a shit-eating grin on her face. 

Kevin let out a breath that he didn’t even know that he was holding.

She fished something out from her bag and pulled out two separate ziplock bags that contained one tuna sandwich each. She placed down the first one in front of Kevin and placed the second one in front of herself. 

“Eat it up, shithead.” She said to Kevin as she opened her own bag. “It’s my mother’s ‘cooking’, if you’d call it that.”

Kevin slowly took his own bag and opened it. “It’s amazin’, Shelly.” He said as he smelled the sandwich. 

She tutted and bit down on her sandwich. “Whatever you say, Kevin.” 

“No, seriously.” He took a bite of his own sandwich. “It’s heavenly.” 

“It’s just canned tuna in stale bread, Kevin. It can’t be that amazing.” She furrowed her brows, trying to find what flavor prompted Kevin to declare it to be practically the best thing ever since sliced bread. She found nothing, much to her chagrin. “Eugh. See?”

“You don’t get it.” He gulped down his food. “It’s just canned tuna, like ye’ said, but it’s made with. . . love. Man, you gotta thank yer’ mom for makin’ you somethin’ to eat sometimes, Shelly.” 

Shelly stopped chewing her food. “When did you learn to be this sappy, turd?” 

“Sappy?” Kevin harrumph. “I’m just bein’ appreciative of a good meal is all instead of bein’ an unappreciative fuck.” 

Shelly pinched his thigh, causing him to squeak. 

“You’re crossing a line you don’t want to cross, turd. Just keep on eating before I make you throw up.” She warned Kevin.

“Yeah, right. Like you’d do that to me now, Shelly.” He replied coolly, biting down on his sandwich again. 

Shelly didn’t deny the notion as she took another bite from her sandwich.

“I know that yer’ tryin’ to keep your toughness on all the time, but. . . I know that this sammich is made with love, and I haven’ tasted anythin’ with that in a long time.” Kevin chuckled.  


“What are you getting at?” Shelly growled. 

“Thank your ma and pa sometimes, Shelly. Maybe add in another thank you from me.” Kevin answered. He then took a big bite of his sandwich and shoved the rest into his mouth, chewing all of it with delight as he waited for her reply.

Shelly stared at her remaining sandwich intensely. She thought of the words Kevin said, ruminating the possibly of slapping the shit out of him. A part of her wanted to yell ‘how dare you!’ at him, while the other just wanted to get up and leave. Another part of her, however, wanted to listen. 

“So?” Kevin asked her with a slight smile.

She closed her eyes and sighed. 

“I’ll think about it.”


	6. Stark's Pond Scare

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shelly and Kevin hang out at Stark's pond.

A week and a day had passed by since Shelly and Kevin’s meal at the cafeteria. The past week had been, for the both of them, mostly mundane since then. They still smoked at the backrooms, though Shelly had started suggesting that they eat at the cafeteria more since then. Kevin had, throughout the week, began to warm up to the idea and with each day that passed, the more into it he seemed to become. 

Even those developments couldn't redeem the week, however, as the only other thing that Shelly could remark as remotely interesting was a little fight that she had with a classmate on tuesday that earned her a bruise on her left hand as well as a week of detention. As for Kevin, the only thing that he could really comment on was his encounter with the 6th grader.

In fact, they were discussing the latter at Stark’s Pond right now. 

“Kevin. Are you sure that you saw a 6th grader?” Shelly asked as she skipped a stone across the pond. It almost reached the other end, only stopping short of the other side. 

“Yeah, Shelly. I ain’t blind.” He replied as he threw his own, though it faltered before it had reached the location of Shelly’s stone. 

“You oaf.” She chortled. “The sixth graders aren’t in our high school.” Shelly slapped Kevin’s back, causing his eyes to go wide.

“Oh.” Was his slow reply. 

“. . . what in the world do you think that they were doing there, if there really were sixth graders?” She asked, her cheeks flush with her laughter. Shelly leaned back on the bench and placed her hands behind her head to act as a cushion. 

“I dunno. Probably scouting their territory before the year ends.” Kevin answered. “In a few months, they’d be seventh graders like us, too.” 

“Not like us, Kevin. We’ll be 8th graders then.” She corrected him. “Though that makes sense. Maybe they were trying to mark their bullying territory before they head up to the big league. Like a cat pissing on a tree stump.”

Kevin chuckled as he reached for a cigarette on his pocket. “What a great analogy, Shelly. I’m impressed.” He said in an amused tone while lighting the stick. 

“Naturally—Wait, are you smoking?” Shelly looked over at Kevin as the smell of cigarette smoke hit her nose. “Pass me one, Kev.” She added as she made grabby-hands towards his pockets. 

Kevin shooed her hands away, lightly tapping them to fend them off. “Get your own, Shelly. Ya’ know how much I had to work for these.” 

“Stealin’ from your father is not unique. That’s exactly what I do.” She replied with a faux-crestfallen tone with a pout. “I befriend you and this is all I get. Empty excuses.”

Kevin rolled his eyes. “Not having a cigarette won’t kill ya’, Shelly. Having one will.” 

“Says the one who’s smoking everything he’s got without handing some to their friend.” Shelly dryly replied.

“I’m bound to have it an’way with all the shit happenin’ back home. You don’ exactly feel like yer’ house is a drug den, don’t ya’?” He took a deep hit and breathed out the smoke slowly as he savored the nicotine. 

“No, not really. Instead it feels like the set of White Trash.” She had a knowing look on her eye, aware that Kevin had gone through that show before. 

“Eugh. Don’t remind me, Shelly. I still ‘ave nightmares of sayin’ ‘I dunno!’ on everythin’.” He snorted heartily followed by a dry cough. “Oop. Forgot I was smokin’.”

“So, like, basically every single time somebody asks you something?” She continued her verbal assault, though both parties knew that it was all in good sport. “Must be a pretty realistic dream, brah. Or maybe it’s just plain true.” 

“Your blows are so low ya’ might as well try’na diggin’ it straight’a China.” Kevin quipped as he flicked the wire of Shelly’s headgear, a slight smile on his face.

“Ow! Watch it!” She exclaimed as she quickly held the spot Kevin flicked while also quickly giving him the finger with her other hand. “If you accidentally misalign anything, I’m gonna have to wear it for yet another year!”

He chuckled at her overreaction as he took another hit. “I dunno if that’d be a bad thing. I think they look good on ya’.” 

Shelly went silent, her excited face slowly faltering to a downcast expression. Her eyes flitted their gaze around the pond as a thought slowly pooled into her head. 

Kevin watched with equal silence as Shelly picked yet another rock and threw it into the pond. The stone barely jumped once before stopping and sinking into the bottom. She put a hand to her forehead and bit her bottom lip so tightly that she almost drew blood. 

“Shelly?” He finally spoke up, worried for his friend.

She looked up, though it was not towards Kevin. Her blue eyes gazed on the woods beyond the pond now, as if searching for something that wasn’t there. She put her right hand over her bruise and ran her fingers around it’s circumference as she looked for something to say. 

“Kev, do you really think that?” She murmured, a slight flush on her cheeks. 

Kevin closed his eyes and slowly put a hand on Shelly’s shoulder. 

“’Course I am, Shelly. Whoever tells ya’ otherwise is a cunt ‘n’ a liar and can just go and slip off a cliff.” He said jokingly, trying to lighten the mood. 

Shelly couldn’t help but smile despite the wave of sadness that had swept over her earlier. She balled her right hand to a fist and smacked Kevin on the side, causing the latter to flinch and groan.

“You asshole!" She shouted as she laughed.

"What? it's the truth!" Kevin crossed his arms and raised a brow.

"Still!" Shelly exclaimed.

"Still what. . . OW!" Kevin groaned as she hit him on his leg.

"You really are an asshole!"

====  
Kenny, Kyle, Karen, Ike and Firkle had been walking for quite a while. They were on their way to Stark’s Pond to bring the three younger children to Tricia Tucker’s picnic-themed birthday party. The two younger boys were not really in the mood to go, but were forced to do so due to Karen’s insistence.

“Why couldn’t we take the bus?” Firkle complained with a groan as he shielded his eyes from the sun with his hand. 

“Quit it, you little baby.” Karen replied as she parted her dyed hair. She was cleaner than she usually was, her face and clothes finally devoid of dirt and stains. “It’s fun, isn’t it? Plus, you get more sunshine!” 

“Says the one who’s getting a piggyback ride from his brother. Man, I wish my own brother could do that right now.” Ike interjected as he stared daggers at Kyle.

“You’re too big for one, dude.” Kyle said towards Ike as he rolled his eyes. 

“Karen is older than me!” 

Kyle huffed. “I said _big_ , not _old_.”

Kenny turned to the two. “Guys, will you knock it off? You’re annoying the fuck out of me and most likely everybody else.” 

“Nah, go on. I like the chaos the two are brewing.” Firkle said plainly, a slightly suppressed smile on his face.

Kyle opened his mouth to speak, but Kenny quickly turned around and jabbed a finger on his chin. He huffed again and frowned, though he kept his mouth shut. 

“Why does Tricia want her party in the woods anyway? Is this some elaborate ‘fuck you’ from her, Tucker style?” Karen asked her brother while tapping the top of his head. 

“How should I know? I don’t hang around Craig too much, and obviously not around Tricia either.” Kenny tiredly answered. 

“I heard that Tricia has snapped and wants to arrange a party to make us all drink kool-aid.” Firkle suggested with a small chuckle. 

“You’d be the only one to drink it, Firkle.” Ike joked, though the dark child took it in stride.

“If it is my destiny, so be it.” He replied in a serious tone. “I shall drink from the forbidden cup ever-so-slowly as I feel the contents assault my very body.”

“You’re funny, Firkle.” Karen commented with a giggle. 

Firkle looked away, a hint of red on his cheeks. “There is nothing funny about this. O-Only reality!”

She giggled again at the boy’s reaction, though she stopped when Kenny tapped on her back to tell her that she was making herself heavy.

As the conversations between the five die down, her eyes start to wander around their surroundings. Behind her, Karen could see the yellow walls of South Park Elementary, and that meant that they were now well on their way to Stark’s Pond. She thought excitedly about the food that awaited them at the party, as well as the socialization that they could do themselves, though considering the state of the McCormick kids, she was probably more excited by the former.

Suddenly, as the group continued and Stark’s Pond drew nearer, two figures slowly came into view. One of them was a girl that Karen had seen before, though her name was lost on her. She figured that she was Kenny’s friend’s sister, though, since she remembered seeing her when the two of them stayed over after a particularly bad argument at their house. The other figure was. . . Kevin. 

“Hey!” Karen yelled out happily as she pointed at their direction. “Isn’t that Kevin, and, uhm. . .”

The other four turned their heads to look at where she was pointing. 

“Oh, yeah! That is him!” Kenny replied, nodding slightly. “And the other one is Stan’s Sister, Shelly.”

“Shelly? Sorry, dude. She’s about to dump Kevin’s body to the bottom of the pond.” Kyle said as he shuffled over to Kenny’s side to get a better view of the two. “By the looks of it, Kevin’s accepted it at this point, too. He’s got his hand on her shoulder and everything.”

“Mood.” Firkle added as he waddled over between the two older boys. 

Ike followed Firkle and stood behind him. He then stood on his toes so he could see. “I’ve heard the stories of her from my brother and his friends. She’s scary.” 

“I think we should move along.” Firkle off-handedly suggested. “We must not get in the way of fate.”

“No!” Kenny shouted as he softly grabbed Karen and put her down on the ground. “What if he’s really being murdered? We gotta go help him!”  
“What?!” The others exclaimed in unison.

“A-Are you serious?” Karen said to Kenny as she tugged on his parka, a horrified look in her face.

“Wait, _are you guys serious?_ I was just joking.” Kyle raised a brow, clearly confused on how serious the others took his little joke.

“Well it makes too much sense! Stan’s sister may have finally snapped for all the grief we caused her!” Kenny said in a panic as he held his head. 

“I think we should stay back so we aren’t next on her hitlist.” Ike hugged himself, clearly scared by the ‘possibility’. 

“Ike, you too?!” Kyle exclaimed. 

Firkle put a hand on Kyle’s shoulder. “Fall to despair, old man. We’ve witnessed something that we shouldn’t have.” The goth shook his head as he began to pat Kyle. 

“. . .And what would that be, turds?” A rough, lispy female voice replied. All five turned to the source of the voice, revealing the voice to have come from a frowning Shelly Marsh herself. Kevin McCormick was standing right beside her, his hands on his pockets and a vexed look on his face.

“AHHHHH!” Karen and Ike yelled out as they scurried to the backs of their older brothers. Firkle froze in place, closed his eyes and spread his arms In acceptance of his fate. 

“SHELLY!” Kenny nervously greeted her. “A-And Kevin! Hello!” He added, nodding to his confused elder brother. 

“Uhhh, what are ye’ people doin’ out ‘ere?” Kevin spoke as he looked over the five of them. He no longer had a cigarette, either having discarded of it before his siblings could see him or a case of the cigarette simply burning out. If one was to go closer, though, the cigarette smoke could still be smelled. Thankfully, none of the children were near enough to smell it. “And what were the five of ya’ yappin’ about?”

Kenny was about to answer, but it was now Kyle’s turn to jab a finger up his chin to shut him up.

“We were going to escort these three little kids to Tricia Tucker’s birthday party all the way out in the forest.” Kyle explained as he massaged his forehead. “They all thought that Shelly was going to murder you.”

“Murder Kevin? Bah. Why would I murder him?” Shelly rolled her eyes as she chuckled heartily. “I mean, I feel like taking a hit on one of you—“

“AHHHHHH!”

“—right now since you’ve already accused me and all.”

“Spare us! Spare us and we won’t eat your ice cream when we’re at your house anymo-ho-ho-ho-hoooooooooore!” Karen and Ike got into their knees and pleaded. 

Kevin inhaled deeply. “Uhh—“

“What?! That was you?!” Shelly’s eyes widened, and her brows furrowed even further. She started walking towards the two children, prompting them to stand up and run away to the direction of Stark’s Pond. 

“NOOO!” The both of them yelled as they ran.

Firkle still stood in his place, his arms still wide open. Kenny looked at the direction the two ran off to, an anxious look on his face. 

“W-We can talk about this, right, Shelly?” He spoke rapidly as he backed away. 

“Hmmmm. . .” Shelly feigned thought. “Nope, turd.” She said as she primed up her fist. 

“FUCK!” Kenny yelled as he went on a full on sprint to the same direction Karen and Ike ran off to.

Kyle looked on as Kenny ran, an unbelieving look on his face. He turned to look at Kevin, then to Shelly, and then back to Kenny’s direction, still quite shocked by all of the stupidity he just witnessed.

“So. . .” He started as he turned his gaze to the two 7th graders once more. “What were you two doing there, anyway?”

“We were hangin’ out ‘n’ all. Nothin’ of the murder stuff you kids just came up with.” Kevin explained as Shelly nodded along. 

“It was a fun way to scare the turds pale, though.” Shelly added as she snickered, her expression softening. “Have you seen their faces when they ran away? It was priceless.”

“. . . and a huge hassle.” Kyle sighed. “Glad to hear that you guys are hanging out, though. Don’t think I’ve seen the both of you go out with a friend for a while.”

“What are you implying, turd?” Shelly’s frown returned. 

She slowly began walking towards a now-frightened Kyle.

“Uhm, I mean—Well, e-enjoy your hangout, dudes. I gotta go and, uhm, escort this kid.” Kyle hurriedly said as he walked to Firkle and swooped him up by the arms. 

“Is it over yet?” The goth asked, his eyes still closed and his arms still spread wide.  


“It will be if we don’t run! AHHHH!” Kyle yelled as he suddenly took off and ran over to the direction the others ran off to as fast as he could.

Shelly and Kevin looked on, an amused look now present on both of their faces. They watched as Kyle took a turn to the left and slowly disappeared through the canopy of the forest beyond Stark’s Pond. A few moments after the Jewish boy had finally ran out of both sight and earshot, the latter poked the former at the side with their elbow, prompting the former to look at him.

“Did ya’ understand a word that they were sayin’?” He asked, a smile on his face.

“No, not really. I just went with the flow and did my usual scaring tactics and shit.” She replied with a slight chuckle. “Like I said, it was fun getting the turds to metaphorically shit and piss in their pants.”

“The same goes for me in both ways. Kenny and Karen aren’ gonna hear the end of it from me.” Kevin’s smile widened at the opportunities he thought he could use whatever he saw in. Blackmail. . . scare tactics. . . pranks. . .

“Oh, that’s devilish, McCormick.” Shelly hummed contentedly.

Kevin turned to look at Shelly and patted her twice in the back. 

“I only learn from the best.”


	7. A Long Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shelly's had a long day, and she didn't quite expect for it to end at the McCormick's garage.

If you had dubbed the beginning of the school week following their hangout at Stark’s Pond as terrible, you would be making a large understatement. The cool spring Monday that followed right after culminated in a fight that Shelly had had with Mayie Palmers and her posse In the cafeteria. They had been gossiping about her and Kevin then, and they didn’t expect Shelly to actually listen in and gather all the nasty things that they were talking about. Sparks flew, and Shelly stormed off to Mayie’s table as she ignored Kevin’s attempts to stop her. She won, of course, but she was also the one called to the principal’s office—and the guidance counsellor’s—right after the fact.

The consequences that she received right after were swift, too. She was told by Ms. Payne, the school’s guidance counsellor, that she would normally would have been expelled by now, but instead, she was to go under detention for the rest of the school year—which was going to end In a month. Payne cited her long-standing friendship with her father as the cause of the softening of her frankly light punishment.

Speaking of, Randy had been the one to come to the school that afternoon instead of Sharon. By a cruel twist of fate, Shelly’s mother had been busy at work while Randy had a free day. He was possibly the worst parent to be called to bear witness to the worst thing she’d done yet, and not because she didn’t want him to bear the weight of knowing what she’d done. Far from that—she didn’t want her father to come here because he never gave her a single bit of consideration. When Shelly tried to shift the blame away from her, Randy always called her out on it, even if she was in a way on the right.

Shelly could still imagine her father’s disappointed face when he heard what she’d done this time, though it didn’t hold a candle to the one he made as they drove home on her father’s car after her early dismissal.

“I can’t believe that you’ve been doing all this behind our backs. I knew that your mother was being called a lot to school, but I hadn’t quite imagined that you were a bully.” Randy had once offhandedly commented as he drove, a serious look on his face. 

Of course, this would spark a ‘discussion’ of sorts between the pair—though a shouting match would be more appropriate. Shelly began to go off on a tangent on how ‘he never learned anything because he’s too busy with all of his shit to even pay attention to me’. Randy shot back by saying that she never even bothered to talk to him. She went on an even more far tangent, to the point of mentioning Larry Feegan, though you get the gist of everything at this point. It would fortunately end soon enough, though the two were already beyond speaking terms by that time.

Once they got home, Shelly stormed off into her bedroom and locked herself in. It would be hours before she would come out, coaxed only by her mother’s pleasant calls for her to come down. Once Shelly was downstairs, she first checked and treated the injuries she’d received—the school had already treated them, but a mother’s love went beyond that. After she was satisfied with the attention that Shelly’s injuries got, she began to prepare their dinner. 

After dinner, Sharon told Randy and Shelly to stay in the living room to talk. In there, they discussed their own version of a fitting punishment that they could give her. Randy, still mad at Shelly for the whole debacle, had suggested that they give her a harsh punishment, but Sharon managed to talk him out of it before father and daughter exploded into yet another argument. 

Eventually, they reached a middle ground; Shelly was to do extra chores and will have a curfew imposed on her while she is currently under detention. This all seemed like yet another light punishment, but to Shelly’s dismay, Sharon also mentioned her slipping grades, and added that if there was no improvement to be made, her punishment may be extended until the end of summer. All of these terms satisfied Randy, and Shelly, who knew that she can’t possibly negotiate any further, begrudgingly agreed to it too.

====

Shelly tapped her fingers on the windowsill as she watched the empty streets below. It was late at night now, about an hour or so before midnight. She couldn’t sleep even if she wanted to due to a particular bruise that she had received on her back. She contemplated using the phone, but as usual, it didn’t quite come off as a useful tool to entertain her on nights like these. She especially remembered the outburst she had on the night she first had that encounter with Kevin, though the circumstances of that night was quite different from this one. 

She wasn’t quite sure on what she was expecting to see outside, if any, but she didn’t really expect a pebble to fly to her window either. It was a small one—small enough to make a clinky sound as it hit the window, and also small enough not put a dent on it. Shelly leaned forward and pressed her face against the glass to get a view of who was throwing stones at it.

“. . . Huh?” She murmured as she noticed a small figure underneath. 

It took her a while, but she eventually noticed that the figure was Kevin. He was still wearing the same clothes that he wore to school today, though it had several stains of black that Shelly couldn’t quite point her finger on from where she was. Kevin was about to throw yet another pebble, but he stopped as he was in the middle of winding his arm up when Shelly slid her window open.

“Finally.” He said in a half-whisper. “Come down!”

“Why?” She replied in the same low tone. 

“Just come down! I’ve got something to show you.”  
Kevin pointed at his house with his thumb. 

Shelly was about to ask him something again, but the dirty blond boy turned around and walked back to the streets before she could even open her mouth. With a sigh, Shelly couldn’t help but oblige. She went to her wardrobe and grabbed a pink coat before heading down to the living room. 

She was the last one to head to bed, so she knew that she didn’t have to watch out for her drunkard of a father this time. She still made sure not to make too much of a ruckus just in case. Once she got down to the living room and reached the door, she reached the knob and twisted it open. 

Kevin was sitting over the bench immediately in front of their house again, much like the night that they had both first talked (if you could call it that). She also noticed that the McCormick’s garage door was open was now, too, though she couldn’t make out what was inside of it from their front door. She grabbed a pair of boots and slid them on before she went out to the streets. 

Kevin stood up once he saw that Shelly was now coming over. As she continued to draw nearer, she realized that the stains on his clothes were oil stains—and immediately, she got an idea of what his purported surprise might be. 

“You better have a good reason to call me over this late at night, turd.” She whispered as she stopped in front of Kevin. 

“It is better than stayin’ cooped up on ya’ house all day, though I can’t blame ya’. Beatin’ up three girls takes a lotta’ work.” Kevin grinned like he’d just eaten shit. Shelly gave her a small punch, though it only served to hurt her swollen knuckle. 

“Ow!” She groaned as she quickly took hold of her hand.

“I’m afraid that ye’ won’ be able to do a thing ta’ me tonight.” He sneered at her pained reaction as he turned around to face their garage.

“This really better be good, or when I’m no longer sore. . .” 

“Oh, this won’t be good. It’ll be great.” Kevin muttered as he flipped a switch inside the garage open. 

A few seconds later, the light in the middle of the small garage sputtered to life, revealing a beat up pick-up inside. It was a sight for sore eyes, and the rust on the parts that were scattered around the small room told her that this had been sitting in there for a good while. 

“. . . It’s. The corpse of a truck, Kevin.” Shelly dryly remarked. 

He shrugged. “It is, for now. But here—take a look at this.” He said as he reached under the truck and pulled out a fresh tire. “I’ve saved up enough to buy a single tire fer’ me.” Kevin proudly announced as he tapped on the new tire’s polished exterior. "It's the first part of many on my journey to fix this old fella'."

“Saved up? I thought you didn’t have any money for yourself.” She said as she approached the tire to get a better look—it was obvious that he had just picked it up today, judging by it’s gleaming frame.

“I’ve been takin’ up odd jobs ‘round the neighborhood. Errands, shoveling, dirty work. It don’t pay well, but I’ve got enough to start buildin’ me a dream.” He explained with pride. 

Shelly sat on one of the stools scattered around the garage. “A dream?” She questioned as she looked up at him. 

“Yeah. One day, when I’m old ‘nuff and I've completed repairin' this old thing. . . I'll drive off in this truck and ne’er look back.” Kevin solemnly replied. “It’s a small dream, but it’s all I ‘ave.”

“. . . That’s.” Her expression became a bit more serious. “What—what are you planning to do after that?” 

“Who knows? I’m just’a failure, you see. S’what I’ve always been told.” He sighed as he leaned on the side of the truck, a sad glint on his eyes. “Maybe I’ll make it. Maybe I won’t. Maybe I’ll turn out like my dad—a drunkard and down on the ropes.” 

Shelly could not believe what she was hearing. 

“Are you hearing yourself, Kevin? “ She said to him in a scolding tone. “What the hell are you going on about?” 

“Huh?” He replied, genuinely confused at what she was going off on him for.

“You. . . oaf!” She yelled as she stepped on his foot. “You’re talking about accepting that you’re gonna end up like that!” 

He bit his lip and looked down. “Well, I can’t see any way outta it. My grades are failin’, I don’t have any connections. No aspirations. This single dream’s all I’ve got.”

“Oh my God. You are not doing this.” Shelly put her hands on her face as she sighed. 

“I genuinely have no idea what ya’ mean, Shelly.” 

She stood up with her hands at her face. She then slowly put them down and forward until each of them took hold of Kevin’s shoulders. He looked at her, completely confused at what was happening. 

“Look, here; I’m not just in detention right now; my parents are making me do extra chores and have given me a curfew that they promised to extend if I don’t improve on my studies. And that means that I have to start studying extra hard or I can possibly lose my summer. You know what means? We can help each other study."

“Oh. So. . .” Kevin put his hands to his pockets. “How will that work?” 

“Simple. You come over every day after I finish detention and we can study together. I’ll have to ask my parents for their stupid permission, but I have a hunch that they’ll agree already.” 

“Gee. I—I dunno, Shelly. I don’ think I can burden you—”

“Burden? Come on.” She waved him off. “It’s not like I’m doing this from the goodness of my own heart and that sickly sweet shit. I just want a partner who can help me focus my schoolwork, you know. I'm just trying to save my summer.” 

Kevin smiled. Despite the meanness of the words she said, he knew that she did mean it in a good way. Everything that Shelly did to him, however mean-spirited on the surface, came from the depths of her heart, and he knew that. 

“Well, if it pleases you.” Kevin nodded at her as he wiped his eyes. “I guess I can agree to that.”

Shelly let out an exaggerated groan. “Oh, good. Hopefully you won't go off like a drama queen again."

He chuckled. “Naw, now that ye’ said that, I might as well do it often ta’ piss ya’ off.” 

“Oh, try me. You’re just saving up pain.” She playfully threatened him while she jabbed a finger zt his chest. "I heal fast, you know." 

“A’ight, a’ight, never min’ all that. I ‘ave a feeling that this something I don’ wanna save up on and about.” He took her hands off his shoulders as he turned around to face the pickup truck. “Anyway, ‘nuff talk about the possibility of you bashing my brains out. Would ya’ care to help me install the tire, or are ya’ gonna head home?” 

Shelly looked at him and tilted her head. “Guess.” She said softly. 

Kevin let out a silent guffaw as he grabbed a wrench and tossed it at her. Shelly, who was quite surprised by the toss, let it fall down to the ground with a clang. The pair laughed at her mistake as she bent down to retrieve it.

Shelly would go on to help Kevin install the tire, though the two took almost until past midnight before they were able slot it in. Grime and oil got on her coat, boots and clothes as she worked, though she hardly paid them any mind. She was having fun with her friend, even if it was the middle of a cold spring night, and that’s all that mattered.


	8. Birthday

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kenny accidentally reveals that it's Kevin's birthday.

Shelly and Kevin were studying in the Marshes’ living room when something special happened. 

They were just scrambling to put together a sensible book report—something that they’ve should’ve done long ago—when Kenny came down from Stan’s bedroom and wished Kevin a happy birthday. The little rascal scampered to the kitchen after that to raid the Marshes’ refrigerator.

It was something mundane to the dirty blond boy, who indifferently uttered a simple and passing _”Thanks.”_ to his younger brother. He had expected Shelly to act quite nonchalant about it, too, but he was wrong. 

“Ah. It’s your _birthday_ , isn’t it?” Shelly said in a tone that suggested ignorance, but she had of course heard what Kenny had said. Kevin had begun supposing at this moment that she was about to pull something off.

Oh, and she _was_.

An askew smile crept up to her face as she awaited Kevin’s response. On the contrary, Kevin didn’t find it something to smile at like she did, and the nonchalant stance he had on his birthday still stood. She stood up (closing her notebook as she did so) and strode in front of him, and he looked up to her as if she was crazy. 

“. . . I don’ really see the ruckus ‘ere, Shelly.” He murmured as he tried to keep his gaze up and into her eyes and her eyes only—it was tricky business for someone like him, you see. 

“It’s your birthday, dumbass, and you didn’t tell me?” She said with an added ‘ugh’ at the end, as if she was really terribly inconvenienced by all of this.

“Yer’ makin’ a carnival out of a stable. I don’ think that it’s anythin’ special. I don’ feel any happier than I am with ya’, and that’s sayin’ a lot.” His last sentence felt like it had a deeper meaning, and if the rising heat on his cheeks had something to do with it, then. . .

Shelly stopped on her tracks for a second and found herself biting her lip. She looked down at the floor and then back at Kevin. “Well, how happy does being with me make you, huh?”

A weird, stuffy sort of air suddenly developed around them. None of them thought it was real, since the house was well-ventilated and there was a fan blaring out cool air right beside them, but it was somehow there. Kenny came out of the kitchen with a satisfied look on his face, though it became a teasing sneer as he set his eyes on the two.

“Hey guys. What’s going?” He said to them with poorly-contained amusement, like a child that was trying their best not to laugh about their mischiefs. “I’ve only been gone for a minute and already. . .”

Shelly furrowed her brows and pointed sharply at Kenny. “Why do you care? Get up and do your stupid projects, turd!” She said in a way that amplified her already slurred speech. Kenny’s cheeks puffed up as he tried to contain his laughter as much as possible, and Shelly’s cheeks grew redder as she realized that he was laughing at how she spoke. 

Kevin furrowed his brows, too. Not because of how Shelly yelled at Kenny, but at Kenny himself. He sighed and turned to his brother. “That’s not nice, Ken’. You should probably go and do as she said, If I ‘ere you.”

Kenny shrugged, clearly unfazed by how cross Shelly was with him—he’d become a bit braver when it came to Shelly since their encounter at Stark’s Pond. He still didn’t want to risk getting into a scuffle with somebody years his senior, especially someone like Shelly, so he did as he was told and ran back upstairs.

A few seconds passed by between them before anyone made a move. Kevin turned back at Shelly, half-expecting her to have forgotten about the conversation they were having before Kenny’s entrance, but it was not to be. 

“You don’t think that we’re just gonna drop it because your turd of a brother got in the way, huh?” She said to him with a mischievous smirk. 

“Oh, uhhh. . . “ Kevin tried his best to look at her eyes again. Because they’re _up there_ , idiot.

“Uhhh, oh, uhhh.” Shelly mocked Kevin, complete with gestures. “Kevin, you’re not getting out of this one. We’re not gonna just go and forget your _birthday_.”

Kevin thought that the one she was referring to was about what he said about her making him happy, and to this end, he was relieved. He knew that he was not ready for that conversation yet, since he, in the process of saying it, realized that he was feeling some things that clearly needed to be sorted out. 

“. . . I’m not sure what you wanna do ‘bout it, and we’ve been goin’ round in circles for minutes now, before Kenneth fucked it all up an’way.” 

“I was meaning to say that we should celebrate your birthday, dolt.” She rolled her eyes. “And that I was a bit mad that you didn’t tell me a single thing about it being your birthday today.” 

“And it is. What of it?” He replied matter-of-factly.

Shelly grabbed Kevin by the collar and lifted him up with a single hand. Then, she grabbed the book which she was holding (and the book that he’d forgotten that he was even holding) and threw it at the table. 

“Because I was meaning to say that we should celebrate it, Kev.” She finally revealed with a tired look, though it immediately turned to a teasing smile. “Not a birthday party, though. We don’t have the money and you’re not nine.” 

“But aren’t we busy with all our final requirements? We put ‘em off long enough and now they’ve stacked up on us, an’—“

Shelly shook him back and forth. “Turd, do you really think that reading _Narnia_ and cracking your head on numbers are better than celebrating your freaking birthday? It’s important, dude.”

“But we gotta finish this book report an’ return ‘em to the lib—“

She raised her free hand up and shushed him. “A-ta-ta-ta, don’t give me any of that shit. We’re going, whether you like it or not.”

“But what about the mo—“

Shelly let go of him, causing Kevin to fall back on the soft couch. “It’s a treat. I saved up some of my ‘special’ money and I haven’t had anything to spend them on.”

“What? I—“

“Blast and botheration!” She exclaimed as she pulled off a rough imitation of one of the Narnian character’s they’ve been forced to elbow their way through as of late. “Enough with the questions!” 

Kevin closed his eyes and shook his head. “Ya’ been perfectly beastly at me, Shelly.” He muttered in an annoyed manner, though the slight smirk plastered on his face said otherwise. “Come on, then. Lead the way.”

====

Stan, Kenny and Kyle stared out of the window as they watched Shelly drag Kevin out to the streets. They had heard most of the conversation, since Kenny had roused them after he had been ‘politely’ told to get back to Stan’s room. Cartman laid like an undisturbed and uncut pack of salami on Stan’s bed, though he was trying to pay attention to what his friends were discussing.

“Your sister’s got a funny way of being nice.” Kyle remarked towards Stan. 

“As much as I hate to admit it, she has a soft side. Not that it matters now—she’s been trying to bury it as hard as she can. Remember Trent Boyett?” Stan replied. The three other boys in the room hummed in unison. “She wanted us to apologize for what we did before she would protect us.”

“The fact that Kenny’s brother manages to consistently pull her out of her shell makes me wonder.” Cartman added with a little sneer. “I smell something brewing.”

“Oh please. No more of that shit you pulled on Token.” Kyle turned to Cartman and chided the big-boned brunette.

“He’s right, though.” Kenny said as he tapped Kyle’s shoulder. “They’ve been really good friends for a while now. I even hear them in our garage when they aren’t studying here.”

Cartman rolled over the bed to face the three boys. “They’re probably—“

A shoe was promptly thrown at Cartman’s direction. The boy stopped what he was going to say as he rolled off the bed to dodge the shot. The floor shook as he hit the ground.

“Shut the fuck up, Cartman!” Kyle yelled as he ran over to the bed and grabbed his shoe. “You can’t control your mouth on other people’s houses, can’t you, dude?”

“I’m just sayin’.” He replied as he trudged up from the floor.

“Lay off Cartman for a while. I think the same too.” Kenny said with a chuckle, causing Kyle to roll his eyes as Cartman let out a little snort.

“You guys are insufferable.” Kyle murmured as he walked back to the window.

“Why is it that Kevin doesn’t celebrate his birthday, anyway? I’d imagine that he’d be happy at least, nothing of this bleak stuff.” Stan said as he turned around and leaned his back on the windowsill. Kenny followed suit as he thought of an answer.

“Well, he first started when I was born, I guess. So I heard. He’s really convinced that he must miss out on stuff so we could experience them just because he’s the oldest of the bunch.” He began explaining with a wistful tone. “I sometimes feel for him, you know. He’s so nice to us but not to himself. He gives us all the good stuff when we’re alone or when mom and dad are. . . you know. Wasted. I think he’s done more parenting than they ever will.”

“Weak, dude.” Stan exclaimed. “I didn’t know that Kevin was like that. All I’ve heard and seen of him is—“

“A stupid fool, yeah. He gets that a lot.” Kenny walked over to the side of Stan’s bed and sat beside Cartman, who seems to be listening intently. “Especially from dad. He. . . says a lot of things he shouldn’t say, and Kevin takes it all like a doormat. He believes everything he says.”

Even Cartman, who was used to being an annoying fuck, kept himself silent. Kyle set a hand down on Kenny’s shoulders and wordlessly comforted him.

“. . . I can see that.” Stan replied with a sigh.

====

Shelly and Kevin trudged around the streets with the former on the helm. Kevin hadn’t the faintest idea where the bull-headed girl was taking him, but he’s resigned to fate at this point and let himself be dragged around by Shelly. 

“Mind the wrist, Shell’. I need that.” He joked after he felt a significant tug from her. “Where are we going, anyway?”

“South Park Mall, duh.” She replied without a single glance.

“South Park Mall it is.” Kevin merely replied, though he added shortly thereafter; “I haven’ been there in a few years.”

“I haven’t been there in a while, too. I’m not a stereotypical teenager.” She snidely replied as she made them turn a corner.

“Never took ya’ for one.” He snorted as he imagined Shelly as a peppy gossipy girl of some sort. “Though that would’a been kinda funny ta’ imagine ya as one.”

The two continued making idle chatter as they walked along. It was quite a long walk; Shelly had underestimated just how far the mall was. By the time that they’ve arrived (after getting lost quite a few times), both were practically drenched in sweat. When they entered the air-conditioned mall, the two felt the greatest comfort as the heat immediately left their bodies. The two gathered their breaths at the entrance before they decided to delve further inside the building. 

Kevin glanced around at the various shops and floors around them curiously. It’s not like he’s never seen a mall before, but if you were like Kevin, you’d probably gawk at someplace as packed with stuff such as this. Shelly, on the contrary, just looked straight forward. It wasn’t that she doesn’t care about the other shops; even someone as hardy as her couldn’t completely forgo window-shopping. It’s just that she already has something in mind. 

The pair wordlessly ascended through one of the escalators present on the first floor. Kevin looked around once more to take advantage of the better view when he saw his sister and her friends staring intensely at the Hot Topic. Karen wasn’t necessarily into it, but the way that she shyly glanced at Firkle as the latter stared daggers on the clerk inside suggested that she was enjoying it either way. He turned away from them moments later, as he does not want to spoil the moment. Not that he could—Shelly had a grip of lead on him at this point. 

Eventually, they stumbled upon a coffee shop of sorts. It wasn’t a starbucks, which meant that the things there were not horribly overpriced, though Kevin noted that it was just as pretentious in their décor and their menus. The place had a lot of empty chairs and tables, but there were also almost as many tables that did have people in them. Thankfully, they knew nobody that was inside, even if a little more than half of the other customers were around their age. Shelly lead Kevin around before shoving him on one of the corner seats which had cushions in them instead of hard stools. She then took a momentary glance at the menu placed directly above the counter before taking out her wallet and fishing out a few dollar bills. Once she got enough money (or so she thought), she slapped the paper bills down right in front of a confused Kevin. 

“What do I do with this?” He stupidly asked.

Shelly sighed. “You order for us, Kevin. It’s—It’s painfully obvious.” 

He arched his brows. “Order? I know how to order, but why don’ ya’ do it?”

She rolled her eyes in response. “I gotta get something out of here before we start. Just—Just do what I’m telling you, alright? You can buy any flavour you want for me and you, so surprise me. Just make sure that you get the biggest you can.”

Kevin couldn’t help but give off a slight smile. “You’re giving me too much power, Shelly.” He said mischievously.

“Oh, really? You know that retribution is swift when you cross me, McCormick. Don’t push your limits.” Shelly pointed at her eyes with her pointing and index fingers and then to Kevin’s. 

“Surely—“

She waved him off. “Save it. I’m leaving now, so you better do what you were told. I’ll come back in ten minutes tops, so don’t miss me too much.”

“Well, alright. Not that I’d miss ya’ an’way.” Kevin smirked as he replied. 

Shelly simply stuck her tongue out at him before twirling around and marching for the exit.

Kevin’s breath hitched as he watched her walk away. Only when she turned a corner and disappeared from sight did he focus on the task he was given at hand. He took the money at the table and counted them—there were ten dollars in total—before standing up to do order some coffee for themselves. He feared that it would take quite a while at first, but a single glance revealed that there really wasn’t much of queue in front of the counter—the only person standing there was, of course, the cashier; a tired and jaded high-schooler. Kevin approached the counter and looked up at the cashier.

“What’s your order, kid?” The cashier asked him with all the energy he could muster, which isn’t much.

Kevin browsed through the menu for a moment. He didn’t want to stall too much and inconvenience the cashier, so he picked out the nicest thing that he saw for himself; a simple caramel macchiato. As for Shelly, he was about to order a macchiato for her, too, but then his eyes flitted over one of the options, and a dastardly idea popped up on his head.

“A car’mel macchiato for me.” Kevin grinned. “And a pum’kin spice latte for my friend, please.”

The cashier began to ring it all up. “Size?” He asked without even looking up from the register.

He remembered that Shelly told him to pick out the biggest that he can, and so, he chose the biggest size that could fit two drinks within just ten dollars.

“Both mediums, please.” Kevin said as he placed down the money on the counter.

The cashier took the money before reaching up to his right and grabbing two medium cups. “Name?”

“Kevin for ta’ macchiato, and Shelly for ta’ pum’kin spice.” 

The sounds of marker-on-cardboard filled Kevin’s ears as he began to write down their names on the appropriate cups. Once he had written everything he needed on both cups, he placed both of them down and looked up at him. 

“It’s gonna take a while for these to be whipped up, so is it okay if you wait a bit for your order?” The voice of the high-schooler suggested that he didn’t care for Kevin’s answer—all of this was common courtesy, and in actuality, your answer doesn’t matter. Bleak stuff.

“Yeah, all the better, actually.” Kevin answered with a smile.

The cashier nodded at him before finishing up his order. The register hummed as the cashier sifted through it to get some change, which didn’t take long. Once the cashier had gotten enough coins—which weren’t many and frankly only bothersome to count—he took the completed receipt from the register and handed both to Kevin. Once the dirty blond boy took it, the cashier grabbed the two named cups and brought them to the back where they will be presumably prepared.

Kevin, now done with his task, simply walked back to his table and waited for both their orders and Shelly. The latter seemed to take her sweet time—even Kevin, who was usually laid back and patient, found himself tapping his foot as he stared out of the glass walls in an effort to spot the brunette. He only pried his eyes away from it when their names were called by the cashier, signalling that their order was done. That in itself took ten to fifteen minutes (Kevin didn’t have a watch, and he didn’t pay attention to the clock on the wall) in total, and so, he found himself beginning to be even more impatient. 

The brunette arrived twenty minutes after he had taken their now-completed orders. Kevin was almost about to fall asleep at the table by then, only to be stopped by the sounds of something hard hitting the table. He quickly adjusted himself and inspected what the girl had been up to. On the table, beside their coffee, was an opaque plastic bag with something mildly rectangular in it. He didn’t have the faintest idea of what it was, but the way Shelly looked—she was really _really_ excited—hinted that it was something she must’ve liked or loved.

“Took you long ‘nuff.” Kevin started with fake annoyance. “Thought you’d ditch me in ‘ere with all these people.”

“Me? Ditch you?” She rolled her eyes. “It was only like thirty minutes, McCormick. Lighten up.”

“Must women take so long in these malls like the—OW!” Kevin yelped as Shelly suddenly twisted his ear. “What was that for?”

“For being such a fool.” She replied as she shook her head. “Anyway, what did you get me?” Shelly added, referring to the coffee.

“Fuck around, find out.” Kevin coolly said as he took the cup labelled ‘Kevin’. 

Shelly took the other cup—the one with ‘Shelly’ on it—and peeked inside. Kevin smiled as he waited for her reaction. 

“So?” He said with a smug look. 

Shelly lifted her hand up and poked him on the nose. 

“If it wasn’t your birthday, I’d have kicked your ass so hard you wouldn’t even be able to enjoy this entire summer.” Shelly said as she set her cup down. “If drinking this kills me, I will haunt you forever, Kev.”

Kevin took a sip from his cup, which he greatly enjoyed. “Try it. Maybe you’ll find your inner bloomer.” 

Shelly glared daggers at Kevin as she lifted up her cup and took a little, cautious sip. Her eyes widened as she took in the flavour, and she turned to him with a look of bewilderment on his face. 

“I. . . I fucking like it, Kevin. Why—“

Kevin would’ve burst into hearty laughter, but they were in a public place and he knew it. He watered down his amusement to just a series of light chuckles as he watched Shelly repeatedly continue sipping on her cup. She was trying to find ways not to like it, but every sip proved her wrong. 

“I am going to kill you.” She said plainly as she wiped the dregs on her mouth with a hanky. “I am literally going to kill you, Kevin. I bought you the nicest gift and—“

He raised both of his brows as high as he could. “Oh, so that thing’s a gift for me now, is it?” He said as he pointed at the plastic on the table. 

Shelly bit her lip as she slowly put the cup down. She looked like she was in pain as she put her hand to her forehead and whispered to herself.

“I can act surprised, you know.” Kevin put his hand on hers, still in a jesting mood, but a part of him thought that she actually was affected by her sudden and untimely reveal.

“Nah, turd. You got me good—really good. I didn’t expect you to outwit me at all.” She said with a slight chuckle. “It’s only fair I reveal it now as some kind of reward for actually getting me.”

Kevin thought that she was overreacting, but he didn’t want to tell her that. He simply smiled at the thought of Shelly getting him a gift. He wasn’t even excited about the gift itself, after all, it was the thought that counted—and oh _boy_ , did it count right now.

“I’m giddy at the thought, Shelly. Like—really, thank you. You didn’ have to do this at all but. . .” He grinned widely. “But why don’ we finish our drinks first?“

====

Shelly and Kevin were now just lounging around at the coffee shop. Both of them had finished their drinks, with the former protesting the fact that she had practically vacuumed her cup. The latter enjoyed her complaints very much, especially since he was the mastermind of the whole thing. They would’ve continued discussing this until tomorrow, but the topic of the gift resurfaced along the way and brought their attention back to it.

“I hope that the gift isn’ too expensive, Shelly. The coffee was already divine, and I’d hate to be a leech.” Kevin said out of the blue.

“Huh? Oh, don’t mind it. Like I said earlier this morning, I. . . actually used my 'special', also known as 'smoking' money on it. It’s better to be used this way than in smokes.” Shelly explained with a little prideful smile.

“That was quick. You really saved up that much money? Was it the shorter an’ busier school periods, eh? Or maybe a better study ethic?” He replied jokingly.

“Smartass, you know what I mean. I’m starting to slow down on smoking.” She tapped the table with her fingers as she recounted the past few weeks. “Used to be three times a week, maybe even more. Now I’m surprised if I even whip it out. Having a friend really helps, you know?”

“. . . That’s great, Shelly. I’m—“

“Shush!” She jabbed at his forehead. “I’m not done!”

Kevin chuckled as he motioned for her to continue.

“You’re that friend—and I may be quite rough with you, but that’s just me being me. And. . . frankly, I hate it when I can’t reach someone I’m friends instantly and have to go to their home.”

He muttered a barely audible ‘huh’. What was Shelly getting to?

“. . . So I got you a phone.” She said nonchalantly as she reached for the plastic. She pulled out a small white box with the words ‘Alcatel’ printed on it. “A bad one, like, worth twenty dollars. But hey, you can at least text and call me now, right?”  
Kevin looked at her as if she was stupid. He opened his mouth to speak, but his words get stuck at his throat. He would continue to try to say something, but eventually he would just settle on stretching out his hands and taking the box from her. He opened it slowly as if it was cursed, and when he finally saw what was inside—a small, black rectangle—his heart was quickly filled with a warm _something_. He couldn’t describe it fully, but it was akin to a warm bath after a long winter day.

“Shelly, uh. I can’t. . . I can’t accept this.” He murmured. 

“Dude. It’s a tracfone alcatel. It’s. . . it’s literally twenty dollars and then some for the sim. Get over it.” She leaned on the table and rolled her eyes. “I can probably earn back the money in a week.” 

“The fact that you give me this is enough.” Kevin put the box down and put his left hand over it. He had the stupidest smile that he’d ever put on as he stared at Shelly. “I. . . I don’ think I can go on an’ just accept this, really.”

“Puh-lease.” Shelly waved at his face. “You’re giving me too much credit. I just get tired of having to spare a minute to walk to your house every day to pick your lazy ass up.”

“But—“

“A-ta-ta-ta-ta.” She wagged a finger. “Can it, McCormick, or I will take it back from your dirty little grasp.” She looked at the exit of the coffee shop and then back at Kevin. “Like, dude. You look like you’re gonna make a fucking show out of this. What do you say about getting out of here and getting back to work?”

Kevin glanced at the box once again before turning to Shelly. He really wanted to thank her, but the bull-headed nature of his friend suggested that he move on. With a sigh, he stood up from where he sat and put his own hands at his sides.

“Fine, fine. I’d like that, Marsh.” He said in a smitten tone. “I’d like that.”


	9. Summer Break Party

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It was almost certain that it was going to be a boring summer break all around when Shelly and Kevin received an unexpected invitation.

It was now the middle of their summer break. 

Randy had begun talking about getting a marijuana farm of sorts after he noticed that the drug was becoming more and more popular within South Park. Shelly was very much against the idea, but her father didn’t care for her opinion. Sharon was against it too; she said that she mas content with what they had, and the community they were in was already perfect. He was, however, every bit as bull-headed as his daughter was. He didn’t care for what the others would say, and in a short while he was already on the process of prospecting for a plot of land that could be used to start his business.

On a brighter note, Kevin had landed a job at the City Wok. Mr. Kim’s business had been booming ever since the whole SoDoSoPa incident—which was, surprise surprise, instigated by Shelly’s father—and in order to take care of his extra customers, he had decided to enlist a child labor force again. It was a more discreet operation this time, and most of them actually looked like they weren’t underage. He was a very benevolent employer despite the dubious nature of his business, and Kevin enjoyed many perks and received fair pay for his job. Shelly doesn’t like this much, but she decided that it wasn’t her business and just let him do what he wants to.

Besides all of that, it has been mostly uneventful. Shelly and Kevin often either hung out in many places around South Park such as Stark’s Pond or maybe even just the McCormick’s garage. In particularly slow days, Kevin went over Shelly’s house to play video games on her room, which was something her parents understandably wanted to regulate to some degree. Both of them denied anything beyond just being friends, and why wouldn’t they? They’re not a thing—none of them wished it to be just beyond that.

At least that’s what Kevin tells himself.

In other times, Kevin and Shelly would be forced to attend to their siblings. Stan would often need to go somewhere that needed someone ‘mature’ to watch over with his friends, and Karen has been going out a lot with her goth troupe, and sometimes she even hangs out with the local kids her age. Ike, Tricia, Karen and sometimes Firkle would often be found on the playgrounds, though Firkle was only there because he’d been dragged along (which wasn’t unusual at this point).

The two have resigned themselves to having such a run-of-the-mill summer by then, but they were pleasantly surprised when they received invitations from a kid named Wesley to attend a party of sorts at his house to be held the next weekend. Wesley was a new kid their grade that had moved in just a little over a month ago, and Shelly supposed that this was the new kid’s attempt to get some favour from his classmates—even from some people the likes of both Shelly and Kevin—and gain new friends. 

Whatever it really was, they don’t care; there’s finally something to do to add spice to an otherwise exceedingly normal summer.

====

_Knock knock knock. ___

__Kevin softly rapped his knuckles at the Marshes’ front door. Footsteps came sounding from the other side a few seconds later, followed by the door opening. Sharon Marsh stood on the threshold, her hands clasped together as she smiled at the boy._ _

__“What is it, dear?” She asked warmly. She was used to his presence at this point—Shelly and Kevin had helped each other prevent themselves from failing their classes at the last second and he had been coming over a lot since summer started—and has actually taken quite a liking to him._ _

__“Is Shelly home?” He answered._ _

__This was quite a common question of his, and so Sharon simply just nodded and let him inside. Kevin muttered a simple _’Thank you,’_ to Sharon as he entered the house and ran up the stairs. He then rushed towards the door of Shelly’s bedroom and knocked on a similar fashion as he did on their front door._ _

__The sounds of moving blankets and fabric came from inside the room as Shelly got out of her bed. She slipped on her slippers and waddled to the door, opening it with a tired look. She had just awoken minutes earlier, and was admittedly not quite herself._ _

__“Rise an’ shine.” He murmured as he playfully waved a hand at her face. She frowned as she slowly grabbed his hand and squeezed it tightly, causing Kevin to cry out with a silent ‘ow’._ _

__“Rise and shine yourself, buddy.” She replied in a low whisper as she tried to stifle a yawn. “I’m still in my pajamas, so get lost for a few minutes for me.”_ _

__He took a step back as Shelly released his hand. He wiped it clean on the side of his shirt. “Alrighty then, I’ll leave ya’ to it.” Kevin said to her as he turned around and faced away from her door. Shelly rolled her eyes as she slammed it shut._ _

__A few minutes later, the door opened once more. Shelly was now wearing her summer clothes, which consisted of . . . a light purple button-up shirt and pink shorts. She. . . wasn’t quite the fashionista, which was something that Kevin had noticed long ago._ _

__“What’s your business waking me up, McCormick?” She said to him as they both went down the stairs. “This better be for a good reason, because I was really angling to sleep in today.”_ _

__“Don’ ya’ ‘member? There’s Wesley’s party, Shelly.” He explained. They reached the first floor and sat on the couch. “It’s startin’ at dusk—and you’ve almost slept it all away.”_ _

__She laid down on the couch and put her knees up on Kevin’s lap. “You’re exaggerating. What time could it be?” Shelly questioned as she stifled yet another lazy yawn. “And I don’t think that anyone’s gonna come in that early.”_ _

__“It’s three in the afternoon, dear.” Sharon interjected as she put down a plate of sweetbread and two cups of coffee down on the coffee table. “I’ve been calling for you every half hour, you know.” She added as she strode away to the kitchen._ _

__“Yer’ mum’s right. I’ve been hard at work at the garage since dawn, an’ every now an’ then I send ya’ a little text. No peep.” Kevin added as he bent down to grab one of the cups. “Made me feel a little lonely.” He said with a little bit of jest._ _

__Shelly slowly grabbed her phone from her pocket and sifted through her text messages._ _

__**[8:23] Kevin: you awake? if you want to help me in the garage then just send a text.** _ _

__**[10:47] Kevin: are you sleeping in?** _ _

__**[10:48] Kevin: wait why am I asking you of course you are if you haven’t replied yet** _ _

__**[12:33] Kevin: you must be awake by now right** _ _

__**[13:05] Kevin: hey** _ _

__**[14:19] Kevin: if you wake up in a bad mood please don’t beat me up for sending too much** _ _

__**[15:41:] Kevin: finished my work. gonna go come over.** _ _

__“Wow,” She said with a smile. “That’s quite the collection.”_ _

__Kevin looked away, his cheeks flushed. “Well, I keep thinkin’ that you’ll wake up or somethin’. Should’a gave up after the ta’ second text.” He explained with some difficulty._ _

__“Don’t worry, I’m not mad. I should’ve warned you that I planned to wake up tomorrow.” Shelly grabbed her own cup of coffee—and after finding great difficulty in drinking it while laying down—sat up with her back on the couch’s arm. “Which means I would’ve missed the party.” She continued before taking a sip. She made an unamused expression right after, though it was directed mostly at herself. “. . . which would suck. A lot. Wow, I really should’ve thought things through.”_ _

__“You don’ think many things through--” Kevin dodged a backhanded slap with surprising finesse. “--wouldn’ put it past ya’ to be honest.”_ _

__“I’m gonna go ignore what you just said,” Shelly said matter-of-factly as she took a gulp of her coffee. “And speak about the party instead. When do you think should we go there? I’m thinking that we should be fashionably late.”_ _

__He arched his brows as he threw a smirk at her. “You? Fashion? I would never think ya’d say that.” Kevin took one of the spoons and carved across the sweetbread. “Though if I was gon’ attend a party at dusk, then I’d rather be in there an hour in. That’s where it gets wild an’ all, compared to bein’ a glorified room of neverendin’ awkwardness.” He took a spoonful and ate it, chewing as he thought about it some more. “Plus, who knows if they’d gotta spice? Maybe they’d take it out when ta’ party’s gettin’ wild, y’know what I’m sayin’?”_ _

__Shelly kicked one of his legs with her right foot. “Dude, shut it! My mom and dad might hear and ban us from going. I’m not even sure if this Wesley kid has the guts to smuggle some in. Don’t get your hopes up—and if they do and you get wasted, I’m not helping you.”_ _

__“Turned to a teetotaller, Marsh?” Kevin gulped down the rest of his coffee and put the cup down. “I didn’ expect ya’ to have this attitude towards alcohol.”_ _

__“It’s different!” She hissed. “I. . . don’t like how my dad drinks sometimes. He’s fucking nuts when he does, and that’s saying something when he’s nuts even when he isn’t. I still smoke, yeah, but I’m not touching any drinks, at least right now. I’m. . . scared.”_ _

__That seemed to resonate a lot with Kevin._ _

__“I guess I’m on the same boat.” He replied with a short sigh. “Or maybe just a bit similar an’ not all. Anyway , the poin’ is. . . My dad. . . he’s. . . not himself when he’s drinkin’. When he isn’, I can feel that he kinda cares ‘bout us. When he is, I. . . I hate him. I hate him from head to toe.” He threw his head back and looked at the ceiling. “But instead of try’na be unlike him, I can feel myself slippin’ to his path all the damn time. I won’ be surprised if I end up in a ditch or somethin’ in the future, no matter how hard you an’ I try.”_ _

__Shelly put down her cup and smacked him cleanly on the arm. “Didn’t I tell you to stop acting like that, Kevin? Jeez, even you’re putting me down”_ _

__“I know ya’ mean well.” Kevin said to her with a sad look on his face. “But this is how I really feel, Shelly. I. . . I dunno what else to think. I try an’ try to stop, but. . . he’s never happy for me. Almost every day I hear his words, and every day I find meself believin’ in them.”_ _

__She looked off to the side, trying to find what words to say._ _

__“I. . . well, I can see that.” She replied. “But you know what I think? I think that you should rebel by proving him wrong. When you become a fucking businessman and dominate the market, you can rub it in his face that he’s been a piece of shit, you know.”_ _

__Kevin laughed._ _

__“Yeah. That’d be ta’ dream.” He said after he finished laughing, tears in his eyes. “Ya’ know what?” Kevin continued as he wiped his eyes. “If you see me drinkin’ anythin’ boozy, slap some sense into me, will ya’?”_ _

__Shelly gave him a little smirk._ _

__“Another opportunity to punch or slap you is a golden one,” Shelly replied. “So you can consider it a deal.”_ _

__====_ _

__It was now around 7 P.M. The party started after nightfall, which was an hour ago. Shelly and Kevin wasted their four extra hours hanging out on the McCormick’s garage. Only when both of them decided that the party was probably quite exciting by now, the two had set off. However, just as they were about to pass by the Broflovski’s on their way there, a winded Kenny ran after Kevin and begged him to take Karen to a sleepover in his stead. Kevin really wanted to refuse and argue with Kenny over this, but the little rascal had pulled the younger brother act on him._ _

__“I’ll be there before ya’ know it. Just enjoy the party, eh?” Kevin said to Shelly as he walked back to their house with Kenny by his side._ _

__Shelly wasn’t too keen on being completely alone on a party where more than half of the attendees didn’t like her or hated her guts, but she figured that it would be a waste not to go on and try to blend in anyway._ _

__And that’s what she did. She followed the address attached to the invitation and eventually came upon a newly painted blue townhouse. There were disco lights inside and barely audible music, which pointed out to her glaringly that she had found Wesley’s house. She then went inside and strode in, ignoring the eyes of everyone that didn’t take too kindly to her presence. She was here to have fun, and ending it with a drunk brawl was not the way to have fun, unless your name is Stuart or Randy. Anyway—she got near the punch bowl, which was surprisingly clean. South Park had a tendency to have rather troublesome children in many ways—Shelly included—and it was a nice surprise that somebody hadn’t tried to spike anyone’s drinks yet._ _

__While she was drinking a cup of the delightful strawberry punch, she realized that she hadn’t quite seen this Wesley kid yet. She hadn’t bothered to search up his social media, and after all, why would she? So, she kept a keen eye on her surroundings—which were basically people going wild over equally wild music--to catch somebody unfamiliar in hopes of getting a glance at the host._ _

__She didn’t have to wait for too long, though, as somebody suddenly dug their pointing fingers on each side of her torso, causing her to squeak. Once she has recovered from the shock, she quickly turned around to face whoever did that, cheeks aflame. She half-expected it to be Kevin, but she was quite surprised when she saw that it was somebody else._ _

__He was pretty much the perfect caricature of a ginger—bright orange hair, widespread freckles and pale white skin. His hair was styled in a way that made him look like Fili from the Hobbit, though it wasn’t as thick and he lacked the fine beard. He wore a white-red striped shirt and navy blue denim jeans, the latter of which made sure that he didn’t look completely like a fucking hippie._ _

__“Enjoying the party, uh. . . “ He drawled in a raspy voice and in a slight Irish accent._ _

__“Shelly. Shelly Marsh.” She replied with a little bit of hesitation. She’s still a little tingly at the sides and a little angry at the person before her, but she supposed that this was Wesley, the host. She’s gotta be nice to him to keep things smoothly. Also, despite everything that she’s been telling herself these past few seconds, Shelly found him kinda handsome. “And yeah, I guess. The punch is real good, and it’s not even spiked yet.”_ _

__He chuckled in a way that Shelly somehow found endearing. “That’s great to hear. Just wait a few before the real stuff comes out and this turns to an actual party.” He turned to look behind him, then back at Shelly. “My name’s Wesley, if you haven’t gathered that yet. Would you care to try out some of the food? Your classmates like them a lot and I’d like to show you some of them.”_ _

__She found herself nodding with a slight smile. “That’d be fun. I’m kinda derped up on too much juice.”_ _

__Wesley extended his pale hand, and Shelly did not hesitate on taking it. He led her to the far right side of the table, opposite of where she’d been. In there were plates of many types of food she’d never seen before, though there were also familiar food such as plates of hotdogs-on-sticks and spring rolls for the unadventurous. Wesley picked up a small dish from a stack placed near the edge and gave it to Shelly with his free hand._ _

__“Come and try some of the Irish food. There’s a lot in there—mam and pap insisted on it before they left to shop—and I must say that it’s good.” He offered to her as he pointed to several of the dishes atop the table._ _

__“I can smell all the potatoes from here. Maybe even a mile away if you disregard all the sweat in here.” She joked. Wesley smiled and shrugged playfully as he let go of her hand._ _

__“Well, my parents are overwhelmingly Irish. I don’t really get it, being quite americanized myself—though I obviously don’t look the part.”_ _

__“What’s this?” Shelly asked as she pointed down on a plate of funny-looking pancakes. “Doesn’t look like party food, doesn’t it?”_ _

__“That’s called boxty. You’re right in the way that it doesn’t really look like party food, but it’s good.” Wesley took a fork and spoon and put them on her plate as he pointed at a dish beside it. “And that bowl of mashed potatoes is called colcannon. It’s usually eaten separately, but the colcannon is kinda great when you add it like paste to the boxty, at least for me.”_ _

__Shelly grabbed the fork and got herself two pancakes. She then took the spoon and got some of the mashed potatoes on the side of her small dish. She put it near her nose and smelled it—the whole ensemble smells of fragrant potatoes._ _

__“Huh. Usually I’d throw up when I smell mashed potatoes.” She said as she slathered some of the colcannon over her boxty and carved a small piece. Wesley watched with a smile on his face as she took a spoonful of it._ _

__“Like it?” He simply asked, though he already knew the answer due to the look of wonder on her face._ _

__“Yeah. It’s—It’s really good. I thought it’d taste like just mashed potatoes, but this is actually not bland.” She replied as she ate yet another spoonful._ _

__He chuckled heartily. “Are you sure that you’re not just saving my feelings, Marsh?”_ _

__Shelly playfully punched him on the side. Just a little bit so that it wouldn’t hurt much—she knew that she needs to respect boundaries for someone she’s just met. “We’re not on a last name basis, Wesley.” She said in a teasing tone. “Call me Shelly.”_ _

__Wesley made a disappointed look as he crossed his arms, though he quickly replaced it with a smug one as a shit-eating grin bloomed on his face. “Well, would you like me to get on a last name basis with you?”_ _

__Shelly bit her lip as a blush crept up to her face. She tried to look angry as much as she could, but she really couldn’t be. She’d even forgotten how much of a fright he’d given her a few minutes ago. The sounds of the excited party-goers faded, and the bright lights that came from the disco ball seemed to dull as she replied in a hurried manner._ _

__“Well. . . fuck, you can try.”_ _

__\----_ _

__Meanwhile, Kevin slowly walked back to their house after he finished escorting Karen to her sleepover. It was at the Tucker’s once again, and she had been coming over there for quite a while now, so he knew just where to take her to and what to do once they have arrived._ _

__As he made a turn around the crosswalk, he saw that their garage was open. Once he was just a few fit away, he heard a series of sounds that made his blood run cold; Stuart’s shouts, the sound of glass-on-metal, and the unmistakeable noise of something breaking down._ _

__“Fuck. FUCK.” Kevin muttered to himself hurriedly as he began to run. It didn’t take a genius to know that his wonderful father was taking out his drunken rage out on the truck._ _

__It didn’t take long for him to reach the garage. He was basically having something akin to an asthmatic fit when he stopped by the garage door’s threshold, and he felt that it got even worse when he saw his father denting the sides of the truck._ _

__“GO FUCK YOURSELF!” Stuart shouted to no one as he slammed his empty beer bottle on the side. The bottle miraculously didn’t shatter, even though it’s evidently been slammed for quite a few times now. “LITTLE. . . PIECE OF. . .”_ _

__“Dad! What the fuck are ya’ doin’?” Kevin finally yelled once he gathered his breath. “Stop that!”_ _

__Stuart didn’t seem to hear him. He winded his arm up for yet another slam, and was just about to let it loose when Kevin grabbed his arm with his hand. He turned his glare at the boy, finally noticing that he was there._ _

__“The fuck you doing, boy?” He angrily asked through ragged breaths. “You think you’re a man? Huh? You think you’re a fucking man with your truck? Huh? You think that you’re better than me because you’re working now?” He continued in a condescending tone. He hated that—he felt useless and belittled with that fucking voice of his._ _

__“I just want ya’ to stop hittin’ my fuckin’ truck, for fucks sake!” He replied as he shook his arm violently. He was really angry at his father, but he didn’t want it to escalate. He had a party to go to—and he preferably wanted to go there without brawling with his dad. “Dammit, dad!”_ _

__“Oh. Really.” Stuart continued as an unhinged smile crept up on his face. He leaned forward, filling Kevin’s nose with the disgusting mix of his beer-filled breath. “You’ve always been conspiring against me, you little shit. When you were fucking born, you practically made me the way I am. You little shit. You little. . .”_ _

__Kevin couldn’t hold back now. He winded up his free hand and smacked his father freely in the face, causing Stuart to stagger back and put his hand over his face. Once the pain had subsided, he looked towards his son with a dangerous glare on his eyes._ _

__“Boy. You. . .” He took in a deep breath, his head shaking as he puffed up his chest. “. . . You ARE IN TROUBLE!” Stuart hollered as he smashed the bottle he was holding unto Kevin’s right cheek._ _

__It was now Kevin’s turn to stagger back, though the injuries he got were worse than what he had inflicted. At first, the adrenaline stopped any pain from being felt, but as the seconds ticked by and the flame on his chest began to falter, Kevin was suddenly assailed by intense, stabbing pain on the side of his head as well as shrill and deafening ringing in his ears. He put his arm around the side of the truck to prop himself up—his legs began to wobble as he continued to feel debilitating pain—while he put his hand onto the side of his head. It was a bad idea; it only served to amplify the pain even further, causing him to yank it back immediately. He could feel his blood on his palm; warm and sticky, disgustingly reminiscent of maple syrup._ _

__Someone else barged in into the garage. Kevin couldn’t see or hear very well, but he hoped that it was his mother. He didn’t want Kenny to get into trouble, nor did he want to see him like this. He then heard the telltale sounds of arguing, though he couldn’t discern who’s voice was whose—the ringing practically made him deaf—as well as what they were saying. Eventually, the pain and the ringing subsided, even if just a little, and he could finally see what the actual fuck was going on._ _

__“I’m allowin’ ya’ to be a fuckin’ deadbeat, Stuart! I’m allowin’ ya’ to scratch the only fuckin’ things we have in this poor-ass house! But if yer’ gonna think fer’ a sec’ that I’m gonna go an’ allow ye’ to lay fuckin’ smash a fuckin’ bottle into my son, then we’re gonna have a fuckin’ problem!” Carol shouted with a grim intonation towards Stuart. He still had that dangerous glare of his, but it was aimed towards his wife instead._ _

__“He’s not **WORTH** defending, CAROL!” Stuart yelled back as he pointed at Kevin. “Look at him. He’s fucking pitiful. He thinks that he’s better than me? Without me, he’s nothing. I tell you—“_ _

__“Well I tell _you_ that without you we’d all be better off—even if that means that they don’t get to be in this world!” She replied with fire; she was practically vibrating with anger, and her already shrill and high-pitched voice was at her highest limit. “You’re using him as a fucking scapegoat for your FAILURES!”_ _

__Kevin decided that he shouldn’t linger any further. He forced himself to stand up, even if that meant that the pain would be intensified. This may seem like it was a bad idea—but what else is there to do? He was tired, he was in pain, and he wanted to be far, far away from the house as much as possible._ _

__Carol and Stuart didn’t notice him as he slipped away, limping out of the garage and into the dark night._ _

__He drifted through the streets in a stupor as he tried to find a place to get some respite. Eventually, he came upon the playground. There wasn’t anyone there, save for some homeless people. They were all asleep, though, and whoever was awake certainly didn’t care for him. He sat down on one of the swings and took out a clean white rag, which he used to slowly—and painfully—clean up his wound. He couldn’t see the full extent of it, but he knew that it was bad; the white rag he used quickly turned to a bleak red and brown._ _

__It took him quite a while before the bleeding—and for the most part, the pain-- stopped. When it finally did, he searched his pockets for his phone. To his relief, it was still intact. He quickly searched for Shelly’s number—which was easy, considering that he had almost no other contacts, save for the parents of Karen’s friends as well as her friends themselves—and rung it up._ _

__. . . and she didn’t pick it up._ _

__Kevin frowned. Did she have a low battery? Or was she enjoying herself too much? The latter seemed like it was very unlikely, while the former was simply not possible as the call did not end immediately—he’d learned that one when there was a day-long brownout a month ago. Undaunted, he called her again._ _

__Still, there was nothing._ _

__He rung the phone twice more, and each time, he was met with silence. He didn’t want to admit it, but he felt a little bit of anger. She wasn’t even paying attention to the fact that he was calling her, or that he was absent at that party. What could she have been doing that was more important? Still, he continued trying to reach her phone._ _

__At his fifth call, she finally answered._ _

__The loud music and the bustle of the party blared through the speaker, causing Kevin to put his phone away from himself a little as he lowered the volume. Once that was done, he put the phone back to his ear and listened closely._ _

__“Oh heya, Kev! You finally getting in here?” She said in a jovial tone. “Sorry about the holdup. I was really into the party spirit.”_ _

___”Well, at least she’s enjoying it.”_ Kevin muttered to himself. “I—Well, it’s okay. And no, I don’t think I can, Shelly.” He admitted. He found out that his voice was a little parched and shaky, and he half-hoped that she could at least hear it._ _

__“What? Why? It’s fun in here—“ Suddenly, Shelly’s voice seemed far away as if she was talking to somebody else. _”Yeah, sure! I’ll take two, Wesley.”_ After that, her voice returned to her normal volume. “That was Wesley, by the way. He’s a really cool guy.”_ _

__“Seems like it.” He said towards the mic as he crossed his legs and looked down. “I’m—“ Kevin looked around, hesitant to continue further. “I’m sorry about this, but, can ya’ come here? I—I just need somebody.”_ _

__“Huh?” She became a little bit more serious in her tone. “What’s the matter?”_ _

__He pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes. “I. . . I got into a fight with my dad, and. . . I don’ think I feel well in a lotta ways.” He murmured. “I mean, you seem like you’re enjoyin’ yer’ time over there, so I understand if—“_ _

__“I’m coming, I’m coming, so shut the fuck up.” She said as she cut through what he was saying. “I’m gonna bring a little something from the party so you don’t fully miss out. Where are you right now?”_ _

__“The playground. Ya’ know, the one with all the homeless people and shitty bathroom stalls.” Kevin replied as a small, wry smile crept up on his face. “What’s the something, Marsh?”_ _

__“You’ll see.” Kevin could hear Shelly walking around as she spoke as the jeers and cheers of the people around them shifted. “I’m gonna go ahead and say that I’ll take like twenty minutes to get there, so sit tight, huh? I gotta say goodbye to the host and get what you need.”_ _

__He nodded despite the fact that Shelly cannot see him do that. “Yeah, sure. I—I’ll be waiting. Couldn’t be more different than five missed calls, ey?”_ _

__He could hear her tut before she ended the call._ _

__====_ _

__During her time at the party, she’d found out that Wesley was quite a nice guy in a good way; he was down to earth and he didn’t quite care for gossip. In fact, they had pretty much hit it off during their first encounter and in just a half an hour they had become good friends. He had also told her in one of their conversations that night that the first thing that Mayie had done when she came in was to shittalk her, and he was glad that he didn’t give a flying fuck about what the girl said, so that pretty much made him rise through the ‘friendship’ ranks by a lot._ _

__When she finally heard—and felt—the ringing of her phone and received Kevin’s call, she had no choice but to bid adieu to Wesley. She didn’t feel forced to do it as after all, Kevin is her close friend. It would’ve been pretty shitty of her if she did feel like she was forced to do it._ _

__“Leaving so soon, Shelly?” Wesley asked with a smile. “We only recently brought out the ‘punchy’ ‘punch’, you know.” He winked._ _

__“It would be fun to stay, but I really got to be somewhere else right now.” She replied. “Though taking some of the good stuff anyway wouldn’t hurt, would it?”_ _

__He chuckled quite heartily—something that Shelly noticed that he did a lot. “Sure, take whatever you want. Foil’s by the corner, though if you’re a bit embarrassed about it then I can do it for you.”_ _

__“Nah, I can do it. Who the fuck cares about what they think?” She questioned with an incredulous look._ _

__“Not us.” He replied, winking once more. “Not us.”_ _

__She would then go on and take some boxty and colcannon for Kevin, wrapping all of it on aluminum foil. When she was about to leave, Wesley offered to hang out with her later this week—which was an offer that Shelly could have never thought to refuse. After that, she went on her way, weaving in and out of the South Park streets until she chanced upon the playground. The entire thing took about twenty-five minutes, which is thankfully around the time that she gave to Kevin._ _

__Speaking of Kevin, it didn’t take long for her to find him as she noticed that he was sitting by himself on the swings. He was looking down at his phone—probably playing a game to pass the time—which illuminated his face. Due to this, she saw the injury that he had sustained. Shelly immediately broke into a sprint, alerting Kevin to her presence. He looked up as he heard her approach._ _

__“Yer’ finally here. What’s up—“_ _

__Shelly put the foils down on the other swing and immediately brought her hands around his wound. She studied it with great care, her face contorting to many different expressions of both worry and disgust over the whole thing._ _

__“Kevin, what the fuck is this?” She asked, her mouth agape. “This is—It’s a big ass wound. You should’ve told me that this is what happened so I could’ve come earlier.”_ _

__“I tried to.” He murmured. “But you pretty much ignored me for the first four calls.”_ _

__Shelly looked off to the side and bit her lip. “Sorry. I got carried away as you might know already.” She explained. “Wesley happened to be a really chill dude and—“_ _

__“It’s okay.” He said as he put a hand on her shoulder and shook it. “No hard feelings. You still came over, you know? Even if it took this long.”_ _

__“You’re too nice for your own good.” She said with a sigh as she turned towards him again. “Come on, let me see your wound again.”_ _

__Kevin angled his head so that his wound was prominently displayed. Shelly examined it further, which revealed that the wound ran from the side of his temple down to the very top of his cheek. Around it were patches of dried blood as well as the telltale sign of a growing bruise._ _

__“What did this to you? Or who?” She asked in a worried tone. She haven’t seen anything as bad as this before, and she was quite the fighter and head-breaker._ _

__“It’s jus’ somethin’ my dad gifted me.” He wryly replied. “Wish I could’a given him somethin’ similar or more.”_ _

__Shelly furrowed her brows as she searched for something to help dress his wound up with, but found nothing save for a clean handkerchief._ _

__“I’m going to ask this again—what happened? Like, tell me how you ended up getting this wound.” She questioned him softly as she started wiping the area around the wound. Most of the blood had dried out and the bleeding had stopped earlier, but the wound was still quite tender._ _

__“My dad. . . he—he got fucked up while I was escortin’ Karen, I think. Maybe he already was when I came by the house to pick er up.” He spoke through gritted teeth due to the pain. “Then, when I was comin’ home, I saw him beatin’ up my truck. I tried to stop him, but then he turned on me. At first it was jus’ verbal shit like usual, but I was fed up. I saw the damage. So I winded up my hand and socked ‘im in the face.”_ _

__“. . . so he hit you.” She replied in a low whisper._ _

__“Yeah.” He looked down as he reaffirmed what she had said. “He hit me with a damn bottle square in ta’ face.”_ _

__Shelly went silent as she started wrapping up Kevin’s wound. The handkerchief was surprisingly long enough to be used as a makeshift tourniquet which she used to hopefully protect the wound from the elements; getting it infected would only be painful and extremely dangerous to Kevin._ _

__“That’s horrible. Isn’t this like, the second time? I really think we—“_ _

__“No.” He shook his head. “No police. I—I don’ think they should get involved, like I said. They’re worse than ‘im. Karen and Kenny got into an abusive lot an’ I was pretty much neglected. I mean, my parents. . . they’re not the best, but. . . they at least try to sometimes.”_ _

__Shelly stared at him as she thought of what to say._ _

__“. . . What are you going to do now? I don’t think that you can return home for a while. Not today, at least.”_ _

__“. . . I don’t know. Maybe I’ll just sleep somewhere on the streets. Not the first time I’ve done it.” He answered without skipping a beat._ _

__“Are you mad?” She hissed. “Your wound’s gonna get infected and, when it does, it’s gonna be life-threatening.”_ _

__He ran a finger through the thin fabric of the handkerchief as he thought of other options. “Well, what am I supposed to do?”_ _

__“Simple. You can stay the night over at our house.” Shelly answered in a manner that made it sound like it was obvious._ _

__Kevin stared at her as he considered it. It wasn’t something too outlandish—he’d stayed over there with his brother and sister before. In fact, he’d slept over almost every other house around the neighbourhood throughout his life. There was just something else about this one time that Kevin couldn’t quite put his finger on._ _

__“Will your folks be fine with it?” He asked in a low whisper. “I mean, I’m jus’ thinkin’ that. . .”_ _

__“Dad’s sleeping on a hotel right now, mom likes you, and Stan respects you as his friend’s older brother.” Shelly quickly recounted. “I’m sure that you’ll be fine. There’ll be food, warmth all that shit waiting for you there. Plus, I can actually dress your wound so it heals right back up.”_ _

__Kevin looked down and started swinging himself to and fro. The skeleton of the swingset shook despite the low intensity of his swings—perhaps the parents were right on that day. The playground really was unsafe._ _

__“I guess I'll stay the night, then. What about the party, Shelly? Are ya’ gonna return to it?” He asked her without any malice. “I don’ think I’m goin’ anymore, like I said.”_ _

__“Oh, pfft.” She chuckled. “Nah, that shit sucked. The only guy I was able to enjoy the party with was the host, Wesley. I told you this before, but he’s actually kinda chill.” She was about to talk further about him, but she remembered that she had brought some food. “By the way, that reminds me. . . I got some of the food from the party for you. You should eat.”_ _

__She grabbed the foils from the other swing and opened them. She then laid it on Kevin’s lap. The boy leaned down and examined the contents._ _

__“There’s more ‘taters here than a Latvian household.” He snickered as he spoke. “Are you sure that you’re not trying to make me lose my sense of taste?”_ _

__Shelly rolled her eyes. “Just eat, Kev. Unless you want to go ahead and starve—that’s fine with me.”_ _

__He gave her a toothy grin as he brought the foil near his mouth. He was cautious in eating the food that was inside, though when he finally took a single bite, he was in love with the food. He quickly ate it all up in a speed that impressed even Shelly. She stared at him with a small smile as he looked quite satisfied with his meal._ _

__“That was really good.” He said as he put the foil on the swing beside him. “Tell this Wesley dude that he makes great food for me.”_ _

__“Oh, I will. He offered to hang out with me sometime this week, so I’ll definitely remember to do that.” She smugly answered. It was less of a promise to thank him and more of a humble brag—after all, somebody did just offer to hang out with her that wasn’t named Kevin._ _

__“Look at ya.” Kevin beamed at her. “Branchin’ out and networkin’, eh? My best friend’s all grown up.”_ _

__“I mean, that IS pretty impressive of me, I guess.” She replied in a joyous tone. “Though,“ She quickly added as she jabbed a finger at his chest. “You’ve actually done something more impressive than that.”_ _

__“And what would that be, Marsh?” He questioned her while he crossed his arms._ _

__“You’ve called me your best friend. That’s kinda ballsy.”_ _

__Kevin chuckled. “Well, with everythin’ you did for me, especially today, you might as well be.“_ _

__“Well, It’s just being me. Don’t blow it out of proportion.” She wagged a finger at his face. She then looked around her surroundings before turning back to Kevin. “Do you want to get outta here? The idea of being watched by homeless people makes me kinda uncomfortable.”_ _

__Kevin stood up with considerably less difficulty than he had before. Shelly’s actions—both physical and mental—had completely reinvigorated him and gave him back some of his strength. He almost felt like he never had a bottle slammed to his face. Almost._ _

__“Sure, Marsh.” Kevin said to her warmly. “Lead the way.”_ _


End file.
